Advertisment
The advertisement was posted on the advertisers’ Facebook account and consisted of a woman and a man alongside various captions.
The woman was shown from her waist down, wearing red briefs with her buttocks exposed. The man was dressed as Santa Claus wearing a pair of sunglasses and was shown grasping the woman’s buttocks with his right hand while sticking up the middle finger of his left hand at the camera.
Complaint
The complainant found the advertisement to be offensive and degrading to women and wished to have it withdrawn.
Response
The advertisers failed to provide a response to the complaint.
Conclusion
Complaint Upheld.
The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint. The Complaints Committee expressed concern at the advertisers’ failure to respond to the complaint. They reminded them that there is an onus on advertisers to ensure that their advertising is in conformity with the Code.
The Committee noted the Code requirements that marketing communications should respect the dignity of all persons and should avoid causing offence on various grounds including that of gender (3.17). In addition, the exploitation of sexuality and the use of coarseness and undesirable innuendo should be avoided and offensive or provocative images merely to attract attention should not be used (3.20)
The Committee considered that the depiction of the woman, visible only from the waist down with her buttocks being grasped, was exploitive and was not in line with the Code requirement that marketing communications should respect the dignity of all persons. In light of this and in the absence of a response from the advertisers, the Committee concluded that the advertisement was in breach of Code sections 3.10, 3.17 and 3.20.
ACTION REQUIRED:
The advertisement should not reappear in its current form.
