BBC "Faces" campaign withdrawn after more than 1300 complaints

They defended it for a long time, the infamous faces advert for digital TV, but the BBC has been forced to withdraw the advert with the creepy head, made up of lots of smaller heads. At the end of November it had only received 400 complaints, but now that number has climbed to 1,300 complaints.

A spokesman for the BBC is trying to save face - heh - by stating that the trailer had simply "finished slightly early", after it "achieved its goal".

The BBC's own website is witness to how much people were genuinly creeped out by the image - comments include:

"As a registered psychotherapist, I wish to protest that this image is disturbingly psychotic. Its unacknowledged aggression could make a fragile viewer ill".
Another entry reads: "I was having my dinner when the advert came on and it was all I could do to keep my food down. The images actually made my skin crawl."

To see the creepy ass flying head, just point your browser here: Visit4info - "BBC Digital TV - Heads ". (Quicktime)

Sources: BBC defends 'digital face' trails November 23
BBC drops 'digital face' trails December 12
Freelance UK: "BBC digital ad 'too scary for children'" Nov 25, 2005
"New “Terrifying” BBC Advert’s Face Still More Attractive Than My Own" December 2