Specsavers has no regrets over Piaf ad

Specsavers' television advertisement featuring the late French singer Edith Piaf singing Je Ne Regrette Rien was the ninth most complained about commercial to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) during 2008.

The ASA received 123 complaints about the TVad from viewers who felt that it was derogatory to the memory of the French singer. However, the advertising watchdog did not investigate further, stating that it was unlikely to cause widespread offence.

Specsavers marketing director Richard Holmes responding to the ASA ranking said: 'With any advertising we take a degree of risk because not everyone will always get the point, the message or the joke (especially if they don't subscribe to that type of humour). I do appreciate, therefore, that not every piece of advertising is to everyone's taste but we take seriously any feedback we receive.'