Five slammed over 'offensive' CSI mail

Published on Wednesday 16 February 2005 13:29

CHANNEL Five was heavily criticised by the advertising watchdog today for sending out a "seriously offensive" mailing.

Almost 200 people complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after receiving a fake crime scene dossier in the post.

The package included macabre photographs, a coroner’s report, apparently bloodstained fabric sample and a "wanted" picture of a suspect dubbed "The Carbon Copy Killer".

It also contained a number of items mentioning the recipient.

A psychological report on the killer said he had an obsession with people of the same name.

Newspaper cuttings described the murder of three people, all with the same name as the recipient, in New York.

Among the photographs were two close-ups of a bruised heel and another of a man’s neck with rope marks on it.

A plastic bag labelled "Evidence" contained two pieces of fabric reddened at the edges.

The poster showed a hand-drawn illustration of a man’s face and the wording: "Suspect wanted on three counts of serial homicide using a firearm."

The elaborate dossier was sent out to help promote CSI:NY, a new series on Five about a team of scene-of-crime police.

A total of 197 people complained to the ASA that the mailing was "offensive and distressing" and did not make clear it was an advertisement.

Among the recipients were a number of children.

Five explained the mailing had been sent to 30,000 people selected from a database because of their interest in crime-related TV and who had opted to receive relevant information.

It said it never intended to cause distress and claimed "a cursory review of the file made clear it was marketing material".

The "Five" logo appeared on the envelope and the cover of the file, along with mentions of the programme throughout.

The ASA acknowledged the steps taken by Five but ruled the mailing breached its code.

It said the "disturbing nature of the programme and contents of the mailing would seriously offend those who had not specifically requested information about the CSI series".