An ad for vegan charity Viva! featuring scenes of a human baby being taken from its mother to protest against the treatment of dairy calves has been banned for irresponsible, distressing and likely to cause widespread offence.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the cinema ad, which drew on the conventions of horror films, would have been particularly distressing for viewers who had experienced the loss of a child.
The ad, seen in March and April 2025, featured a mother placing her sleeping baby in a cot while a lullaby played before a silhouetted figure suddenly appeared standing over the infant and the room went dark.
The mother switched on a light to reveal a man in a suit running a bottle of milk across the bars of the cot, which was now empty, before he said: “You can’t keep your baby because we want your milk.”
The next scene showed a calf in a pen and a voiceover stated: “Almost every dairy calf is taken from their mother shortly after birth so most of her milk can be sold to us. And what do you think happens to thousands of male babies like this one?”
The words ‘Dairy is Scary’ and the Viva! logo appeared on a black screen accompanied by a loud, metallic noise and the sound of something falling to the floor.
The ASA received 25 complaints, including one from The Dairy Council of Northern Ireland, that the ad was irresponsible, distressing – especially to those who had lost a child – and was likely to cause serious or widespread offence.
Viva! said they aimed to raise awareness of standard practices in the dairy industry, particularly the removal of calves from their mothers shortly after birth.
The charity said the ad was based on factual information and was intended to inform and encourage ethical choices, not to shock.
The ASA said viewers would understand that the ad aimed to raise awareness of animal welfare, but said the nature of the comparison was likely to be seen as insensitive by many, and in particular by those with experience of loss or trauma around parenthood.
The ASA said: “Although the ad did not depict the baby being harmed, and it was not shown being physically removed, we considered that its disappearance was likely to be seen as shocking and unsettling.
“We further considered that the statement ‘You can’t keep your baby’, in combination with the sudden disappearance of the baby, was likely to be particularly upsetting for viewers with experience of child loss or fertility issues, in particular because the parallel with dairy industry practices was revealed only in the latter half of the ad.