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Media
Tulisa’s arm did not breach OfCom rules
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 24 January 2012
N-Dubz singer Tulisa Contostavlos did not breach OfCom rules when she waved her arm at the camera during an edition of last year’s ‘X-Factor’, on which she was a judge, the TV watchdog has ruled.
As previously reported, OfCom announced in November that it would investigate whether Contostavlo’s trademark greeting at the beginning of the show – flashing a tattoo on her arm bearing her nickname, ‘The Female Boss’ – constituted advertising for her perfume of the same name.
OfCom ruled that the salute did not constitute undue prominence for the product, because the perfume is officially known as ‘TFB by Tulisa’. However, it did find that an exchange between Tulisa and the presenters of ‘X-Factor’ spin-off show ‘The Xtra Factor’, Caroline Flask and Olly Murs, was in breach of product plugging rules.
On 26 Oct, while interviewing Contostavlos, Flack said: “Your perfume, ‘The Female Boss’, came out this week, and I’ve been wearing it all day by the way”. To which Murs responded: “I wondered why you were smelling so nice”.
They then linked to a video clip of various celebrities copying Contostavlos’ arm wave. This, OfCom decided, did count as giving the perfume undue prominence, as, despite the fact that Flack in theory referred to it by the wrong name, Murs then endorsed it, adding further that the perfume wasn’t the only thing that had been “catching on” before showing the video clip.
