A life insurance provider’s advert has been banned for “trivialising suicide”.

The paid-for Facebook post, from Dead Happy Ltd, showed a desolate-looking man leaning his head against a wall with his arms by his sides, next to the phrase, “Life insurance to die for”.

In 2018, there were 6,507 deaths by suicide in the UK, with men accounting for three-quarters of those deaths.

The advert also featured an image of a laughing skull (the Dead Happy logo) and two months free promotional discount with the code “skullman”.

After an individual complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the watchdog deemed that the advert “trivialised the issue of suicide” and was “irresponsible”.

It suggested the ad was likely to cause “serious offence” to some, including those who have been personally affected by suicide, and ruled that it should be banned as a result.

The sponsored post was spotted on 11 September by someone who believed it was alluding to depression and male youth suicide, and challenged whether the ad was irresponsible and offensive.

In response to the complaint, Dead Happy said it was aware that dealing with death was not easy and that it took mental health very seriously.

A spokesperson told ASA the ad was part of a larger campaign, where they were focusing on the bizarre and absurd – for example, one of the ads showed a man wearing a panda head and another showed a man planking against a wall.

They chose those images based on their ability to stop someone scrolling past them, they said, adding that they didn’t mention the words depression or suicide anywhere, nor was there a connection to depression or suicide with the image, they said. 

Taking into account that the ad was part of a larger campaign which used images designed to attract attention – and that the image was not chosen to highlight any connection to suicide – ASA still ruled that it should be banned.

“We were concerned about the image,” ASA said. “The young man was alone, leaning forward with his head against the wall and his back to the audience.

“We considered those elements, together with the shadowing in the image, created the impression that he felt isolated and was in despair. In the context of an ad for life insurance – which we understood covered suicide – we considered those who saw the ad were likely to associate the man’s posture as alluding to suicidal feelings.”

Reflecting on the laughing skull logo and the discount code, ASA said when taking those elements into account, in combination with the image, the ad “trivialised the issue of suicide”. It ruled that it must not appear again in its current form.

ASA concluded: “We told Dead Happy Ltd to ensure their future ads for life insurance were responsible and unlikely to cause serious offence, for example by avoiding trivialising suicide.”

Useful websites and helplines:

• Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393
• Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI – this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill.)
• The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email: help@themix.org.uk
• Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0300 5000 927 (open Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on www.rethink.org.