UK regulator bans sexy lingerie ads

LONDON, OCT 23: Lingerie-maker, Gossard, was ordered to tear down two of its posters on Monday following complaints that its latest one mi...

LONDON, OCT 23: Lingerie-maker, Gossard, was ordered to tear down two of its posters on Monday following complaints that its latest one million pounds ($1.5 million) advertising campaign was offensive and sexually-explicit.

The unit of Sara Lee Corporation, which describes itself as “the brand with attitude”, launched three provocative posters this month featuring the slogan `Gossard Find your G-spot’ and showing naked men and women and surrounded by discarded bras and knickers.

The three posters carried the captions `Bring him to his knees’, `Moan, moan, moan’ and `If he’s late, you can always start without him’.

Story continues below this ad

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which regulates non-broadcast ads in Britain, said some 40 people complained that the posters were sexually-explicit, gratuitous, offensive and unsuitable for outdoor sites.

A single person complained that the advertisements were demeaning because they portrayed men only as sex-objects.

Gossard and its agency Abbott Mead Vickers/BBDO said women had found the ads witty, cheeky and positive but the ASA ruled that allusions to masturbation and oral sex made the posters unsuitable and ordered two of the series to be removed.

It rejected the complaint that men were portrayed in a derogatory manner.

Story continues below this ad

Sara Lee is the leading US Manufacturer of intimate apparel and hosiery with brands which include Playtex and Wonderbra. Gossard makes the rival Ultrabra range.

Algerian-French artist’s work vandalised at Kochi art gallery over ‘obscenity’ allegations

India5 hr ago

Algerian-French artist Hanan Benammar's linocut prints were vandalised by two artists at an international exhibition in Kochi. The exhibition, curated by Anushka Rajendran and Damian Christinger, was organised by the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi and opened on October 18.

View all shorts

Live Blog

PHOTOS