The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has rejected complaints related to medical concerns about an advertisement for British Seniors life insurance.

The television commercial for British Seniors life insurance, aired in February, faced criticisms of irresponsibility over an infant which complainants said was shown in an unsafe sleep position.

The ad featured a grandmother with her grandson, who was an infant.

One scene featured the infant sleeping, lying on his front in a cot with a soft toy, and the grandmother placing a second soft toy down next to him.

A voiceover stated, “Now I’m retired I want to make sure my grandson is protected”.

Neilson Financial Services, trading as British Seniors, responded that the child in the advert was two years old and therefore older than the target age for guidance related to sleep positions associated with sudden unexpected death in infancy.

The provider added that it did not believe that the short scene which involved the child would cause harm or condone practices detrimental to children’s health.

The ASA rejected the complaints.

It said: “The scene of the child on his front in the cot was very fleeting and the grandmother was not seen to place the child into the cot. We considered that the focus of the ad was on the grandmother and not on the child, and that there was nothing in the ad which indicated the grandmother had placed the child in the cot in a manner which contravened NHS Guidance.”

The ASA is the body responsible for dealing with complaints about advertising content which it deems to be irresponsible or misleading. It has the power to order that an advert must not be broadcast or published again in its current format.