Harold Shipman ad trivialised murders, says advertising watchdog

Harold Shipman is one of the most prolific serial killers in modern history

A life insurance advert featuring serial killer Harold Shipman "trivialised" his murders and was distressing to victims' families, the advertising watchdog said.

DeadHappy used his image in January to promote its services with the tagline: "Life Insurance. Because you never know who your doctor might be."

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld 115 complaints the advert caused serious and widespread offence.

It said the ad must not be used again.

Shipman is estimated to have murdered up to 260 people during his time as a GP in Hyde, Greater Manchester.

The DeadHappy adverts went live at 14:00 GMT on 23 January and the firm had said it had wanted to "make people stop and think".

They were removed at 08:00 the following day when it became clear they were causing offence, the Leicester-based firm said.

The ASA acknowledged DeadHappy said it was never their intention to offend but said the ads "trivialised and made light of the murders committed by Harold Shipman, such that they were likely to cause both serious and widespread offence to those who saw them".

It said any reference to the murderer in advertising material was "likely to be distressing, particularly for those who had lost family members or friends at Shipman's hands and that, in the context of an ad promoting life insurance the distress caused was unjustified".

The ASA concluded the ads were not prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society and did not comply with rules on issues of harm and offence.

DeadHappy said: "In our attempt to be provocative and make people really stop and think about their need for life insurance, we have made a mistake and for this we apologise.

"We will now go away and immediately review all of our current and future marketing campaigns to ensure that we learn from this mistake."

Shipman was found guilty of murdering 15 patients under his care in January 2000, sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order.

He was found dead in his cell in Wakefield Prison in 2004.