A TV advertisement for an iron that showed a woman deliberately spraying steam onto her hand was irresponsible, the ad watchdog has ruled.
BNL Media said its ad for the Light n Easy Iron n Garment Steamer was simply intended to show that the product could produce a burst of steam.

The Light n Easy produced standard steam, not super-heated steam, it said, and pointed out that in the ad the steam only just reached the woman's outstretched hand. The distance between the woman's hand and the iron was sufficient to ensure that the steam had condensed to warm water vapour and would not burn or harm her, BNL argued.

The Advertising Standards Authority agreed, but said that in most circumstances it was inadvisable to spray steam onto one's hand or skin. People might not realise the difference between the Lite n Easy and conventional steam irons, the ASA thought, and if the behaviour shown in the ad was copied with a more powerful iron or nearer the hand an individual could get burned.

It concluded that the ad was irresponsible and said it should not be broadcast again in its current form.