On the 16th of July 2025, the UK vegan charity Viva! announced that the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned its powerful “Dairy is Scary” cinema advert, following just 25 complaints out of over 3.5 million viewers. The ASA labelled the advert as “irresponsible,” likely to cause “unjustified distress,” and of causing “serious and widespread offence,” even though both their own investigations team and the Cinema Advertising Association (CAA) had found the ad suitable for audiences aged 15 and over, with no breaches of regulations.
The “Dairy is Scary” advert, seen by around one million people in cinemas — primarily before horror, thriller, and science-fiction films — and millions more online, featured a scene with a pantomime bogeyman taking a baby away so he could have the mother’s milk, meant as a metaphor for the routine removal of calves from their mothers in dairy production. The advert did not show violence or gore and avoided graphic imagery.
The small number of complaints, including at least one from the dairy industry, equated to a mere 0.0025% of total cinema viewers, yet the ASA refused to disclose how many came from individuals or organisations affiliated with dairy interests.
Juliet Gellatley, Founder and Director of Viva!, expressed the charity’s outrage at the ruling, saying, “We strongly reject the ASA’s decision. It is an entirely subjective judgement and ignores both its investigators and the experts in cinema advertising – the CAA, who ruled that the ad is suitable for a 15+ audience”.
Dismissing concerns that the ad might distress those who have experienced child loss, Gellatley said, “The charity understands that this is a deeply sensitive topic, and care had been taken to ensure the scene was obviously symbolic; a fantasy rather than literal. The aim was to shine a light on animal suffering in a way that connects emotionally — not to trivialise human grief. Viva! believes that the ASA’s decision raises serious concerns about its independence and objectivity.”
Highlighting the well-documented dairy practice at the campaign’s core, Gellatley concluded, “This ruling is nothing short of censorship. It’s based entirely on subjective opinion, not facts no evidence. Meanwhile, adverts from the meat and dairy industries continue to present staggeringly false portrayals of idyllic farms – and the ASA does nothing. Their priorities are clear”.
