Following Anna Kournikova’s bra and Marks & Spencer’s Rubenesque nude, Elida Fabergé’s shampoo model has become the latest poster girl this year to get the nation’s knickers in a twist. Or rather, her knickers, and the fact that she is pictured peering into them, has got the nation aroused enough to send 211 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
The poster in question shows a woman with long red hair dressed in a white bikini, the bottom half of which she is looking into. The strapline ran “Keeps hair colour so long you’ll forget your natural one.” Complainants found the advertisement sexist and offensive.
The advertisers, who had already responded to complaints from the local Muslim community by removing the poster from some sites in Glasgow, cited the results of tests on groups of women prior to launch which found that respondents saw the poster as witty and amusing. Furthermore, they pointed out, the woman was not portrayed in a sexy pose and did not display gratuitous or explicit nudity. The ASA conceded that the poster might offend in certain locations, but did not uphold the complaints.
Yet more scantily-clad ladies attracted 39 complaints against advertising for Gossard underwear. Three poster treatments showed the company’s bright red bra and knickers amongst discarded clothes strewn across a floor. In each case, a partial view of a naked woman or a woman and a man in bed is included, although the angle or soft focus prevents detail being seen. The three double entendre-heavy straplines are “Moan, moan, moan”, “If he’s late, you can always start without him.” and “Bring him to his knees”.
Most of the complainants believed that the advertisments were “sexually explicit and gratuitous”. They also objected that they were offensive and unsuitable for the medium used. One complainant objected that the advertisements were demeaning because they portrayed men only as sex objects.
The ASA decided to uphold the first complaint. It ruled that while the double meaning in “Moan, moan, moan” was acceptable, the allusion to masturbation in “If he’s late…” and to oral sex in “Bring him to his knees” meant that the advertisments were not suitable for the medium used and were likely to cause serious or widespread offence.
The advertisers, who had asserted that the treatments were tastefully shot and ambiguous because of the blurred edges, were asked to remove them. The second complaint was not upheld, as the ASA did not consider that the adverts would generally be seen to portray men in a derogatory manner.
ASA: 020 7580 5555
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