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As expected...
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I did complain to ASA about this advert. As expected, this made exactly zero difference. Here is the (somewhat patronising) reply
While we appreciate your concerns, we note that the ad promotes Wilkinson Sword’s Quattro for Women Bikini, a women’s hair removal product for the bikini line, and while we acknowledge that the ad may not appeal to all viewers, and may be considered distasteful by some, we note that it does not contain any sexually suggestive or explicit language or imagery and that the ad is directly related to the product concerned. The ad displays a light-hearted attempt at humour using a scenario that consumers may be able to identify with to some extent. We do not consider the ad likely to imply that it would be in anyway unacceptable to be anything but clean shaven, but rather to target those who do generally prefer to be clean shaven. This is of course a creative choice on the advertiser’s part and they may risk alienating sectors of the audience who disagree with their approach. We also note that Clearcast, the organisation responsible for clearing TV ads prior to broadcast, applied a scheduling restriction to the ad, which means it cannot be broadcast in or around children’s programmes. Therefore, we consider this restriction to be sufficient and that the ad is unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence, and as such, will not be taking further action at this time.
And my reply to that:
This is exactly the outcome I was expecting, so the decision is no surprise. The complaint was made out of desire to make a point rather than any expectation of change, as change about things like these is slow in coming and hard won. I continue to disagree strongly about what the ad implies regarding women’s beauty standards - not that it’s the only one of its kind as these problems are far more systemic and structural, embedded into and perpetuated by the media well beyond advertising industry. I appreciate the personal response from the ASA though, thank you for that.
I will continue to shout about stuff like this at any given opportunity.
***
I did complain to ASA about this advert. As expected, this made exactly zero difference. Here is the (somewhat patronising) reply
While we appreciate your concerns, we note that the ad promotes Wilkinson Sword’s Quattro for Women Bikini, a women’s hair removal product for the bikini line, and while we acknowledge that the ad may not appeal to all viewers, and may be considered distasteful by some, we note that it does not contain any sexually suggestive or explicit language or imagery and that the ad is directly related to the product concerned. The ad displays a light-hearted attempt at humour using a scenario that consumers may be able to identify with to some extent. We do not consider the ad likely to imply that it would be in anyway unacceptable to be anything but clean shaven, but rather to target those who do generally prefer to be clean shaven. This is of course a creative choice on the advertiser’s part and they may risk alienating sectors of the audience who disagree with their approach. We also note that Clearcast, the organisation responsible for clearing TV ads prior to broadcast, applied a scheduling restriction to the ad, which means it cannot be broadcast in or around children’s programmes. Therefore, we consider this restriction to be sufficient and that the ad is unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence, and as such, will not be taking further action at this time.
And my reply to that:
This is exactly the outcome I was expecting, so the decision is no surprise. The complaint was made out of desire to make a point rather than any expectation of change, as change about things like these is slow in coming and hard won. I continue to disagree strongly about what the ad implies regarding women’s beauty standards - not that it’s the only one of its kind as these problems are far more systemic and structural, embedded into and perpetuated by the media well beyond advertising industry. I appreciate the personal response from the ASA though, thank you for that.
I will continue to shout about stuff like this at any given opportunity.
***
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I know they then went on to actually mention the real need for the complaint but to go straight to sexual content is a cop-out!! GRRR!
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