ASA Dismisses Complaints Against Naked Selfridges Ads

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has refused to uphold complaints against Selfridges for a series of outdoor and press ads that featured a range of naked body parts.

The ads, which were part of a month-long campaign to promote the Selfridges Body Craze event, provoked public complaints on the grounds that they were offensive and in bad taste.

In particular it was felt the outdoor ads, which appeared on the side of buses and featured close-up pictures of various parts of the body, were unsuitable as they could be seen by children. Members of the public further complained that the ads were deliberately photographed in a pornographic way.

One complainant objected to a particular version of the ad, which appeared in the Guardian‘s Guide supplement and featured skin marked by what seemed to be scratches. The complainant felt that the ad appeared to condone sexual violence and could be distressing to survivors of physical abuse.

The advertisers argued that none of the images were sexual in nature and claimed their use of close up photography was justified by their desire to create intimacy between the subject and viewer. They pointed out that the images of skin marked by what seemed to be scratches were close-ups of a hand print, which reflected intimacy not abuse.

In conclusion the ASA considered that the images were unlikely to be seen as pornographic or cause serious or widespread offence. The Authority further concluded that the ad featuring what appeared to be scratch marks would not be seen to depict or condone sexual violence.

The latest figures from the ASA have shown that the number of complaints relating to sexist advertising have soared over the last few years. In 1995 there were just 400 complaints against advertising that was believed to be sexist, but in the first half of this year there have already been 668 complaints relating to the depiction of women (see Complaints Against Sexist Advertising Soar).

However, the European Commission’s plans to outlaw sex discrimination in advertising and the media have been condemned by British advertisers. The IPA recently described the proposal as “baffling” and plans work alongside the Advertising Association to lobby against it (see Plans To Ban Sexist Advertising Are Condemned).

ASA: 020 7580 5555 www.asa.org.uk

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