The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS) has clarified how it ascertained the slogan "Supporting the Freedom to Love" on a Pink Dot ad in Cathay Cineleisure is something that can downplay the shared values of Singapore.

This is the watchdog's full statement in response to Mothership.sg queries:

The ASAS Council noted that the Pink Dot advertisement at Cineleisure technically does not breach the General Principle on ‘Family Values’ in SCAP. Furthermore, the promotion of the event is permissible as long as the organisers have obtained the necessary permit to hold it; hence, advertisements that publicise details of the event, such as the date and the location, are acceptable.

However, the advertisement in question also includes the statement, ‘Supporting the freedom to love.’ which may affect public sensitivities due to the issues at hand. As such, ASAS has advised Cathay Organisation Holdings to remove the statement. However, the rest of the advertisement may otherwise remain.

In case you missed it, here's what transpired so far.

Facebook group We Are Against Pink Dot sparked calls to report the Pink Dot ad in Cineleisure to the police.

They are demanding that the ad displayed on the escalator of Orchard Cineleisure to be removed.

In a previous comment to the media, ASAS referred to the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice’s general principles under their “Family values” section to come to the view that the statement “Supporting the freedom to love” must be removed.

However, it was not clear how that decision came about.

Mothership.sg sought clarification from ASAS about 1) their decision-making process, and how does ASAS deal with ads that are deemed objectionable in general; 2) the decision process with regards to this particular Pink Dot ad; and 3) how was the slogan exactly objectionable enough to warrant removal.

This was after one Singaporean publicly questioned ASAS's decision-making process.

ASAS's response did not answer the first two queries, but their official reasoning seems to be that since the ad technically does not breach the principle of family values, it can stay -- but the slogan has to be removed, considering the sentiments of the public.

Related articles:

Watchdog’s decision to get Pink Dot slogan on Cathay ad amended questioned

Cathay asked to amend Pink Dot ad as ‘freedom to love’ slogan undermines ‘importance of family’

Top image adapted via post on We Are Against Pink Dot's Facebook page

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