A Calvin Klein poster ad starring British singer FKA twigs has garnered attention for all the wrong reasons, and has been banned for "objectifying women".
The poster, released in April, featured FKA twigs wearing a denim shirt that fell to reveal half of her body, including the side of her buttocks and half of one breast, with text reading: “Calvins or nothing.”
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received two complaints, stating that the promotional images were “overly sexualised” and offensive. The campaign was described as irresponsible due to its objectification of women.
Calvin Klein stood by the ad, reasoning it was similar to ones produced before in the UK and saying that FKA twigs is a “confident and empowered woman” who collaborated with the brand and approved the image before publication.
Nonetheless, the ad has still been banned – and it's not the only ad campaign to receive such a ruling.
Rimmel London
Make-up brand Rimmel London was slammed for its ad that "played on young girls’ insecurities about their appearance” by implying it is necessary to wear make-up to school to succeed.
The Facebook ad read: “Get ready to slay this back-to-school season. Get 25% off Multi-Tasker Concealer and other Rimmel faves…”, paired with influencer Lana Jenkins applying make-up.
The ASA ruled that the ad "implied that girls or young women were more likely to succeed or do well when they went back to school if they wore make-up, in this case a concealing and contouring product", while Rimmel maintained that, while it was part of a back-to-school campaign, it in no way implied that cosmetics were a must for children returning to school.
The brand said the ad was intended to inspire confidence, not play on insecurities, but the ban was upheld by the ASA.
Workspace
TfL banned a trio of ads by business premises provider Workspace from appearing on posters on Tube trains.
The ads featured an image of a hand typing on a calculator and another of some cheese, alongside the names of two Workspace tenants – an accountancy company, and London-based online cheese shop Cheesegeek.
TfL deemed the ads incompatible with the organisation's strict rules aimed at cutting obesity.
Cheesegeek founder and CEO Edward Hancock protested the decision as “ridiculous” and said it wrongly categorises cheese “alongside genuine junk food”, reasoning that other ads featuring fizzy drinks and other unhealthy foods were allowed.
Viagogo
The ASA banned two ads from Viagogo earlier this week for implying that tickets bought via its website could get fans into events, including Taylor Swift’s Eras tour.
The highly sought-after tour can only be attended with tickets bought through original partners Ticketmaster and AXS. However, a July advertorial from Viagogo read: “A beginners guide to getting Taylor Swift ‘Eras’ tour tickets. How to avoid the scammers and secure tickets.”
The ASA banned the ad for misleading content, as it suggests that Swift fans can buy tickets for the Eras Tour from Viagogo, rather than simply offering advice, as Viagogo claimed.
Temu
Digital ads are a huge part of Chinese marketplace Temu's spread around the world, but five ads were banned in the UK last year due to the sexualised nature of the content.
One of its ads, for example, starred a model who appeared to be under the age of 11, standing with her hand on her hip in a pose that the ASA said was “quite adult for a girl of her age”.
The image appeared alongside household products like a facial roller, balloon ties, and a jockstrap which, without appropriate labels, “appeared to be items sexual in nature”, according to the Advertising Standards Authority.
AI Mirror
An in-game ad for an app called AI Mirror was banned in December of last year due to its content sexualising women.
The photo-editor app launched an ad in the mobile app game Pocket Champs, featuring an image of a real woman with an anime-style face. She was bent forward and wore small, tight shorts pulled up past her hips to expose the lower part of her buttocks, with a tagline reading: “Try this AI effect”.
The ASA stated that the ad not only irresponsibly targeted audiences by appearing in the game but was also "harmful, offensive, and irresponsible".
KFC
KFC's launch of its herbs and spices blend now being used on its chips was accompanied by a series of ads that played on its catchphrase of "finger-licking good" – but were ultimately pulled up by the ASA for alluding to explicit language.
Billboards across the UK featured the words “FINALLY F-CKIN’ GOOD”, where the letters between the “F” and “CKIN’” were covered by chips.
Although the text underneath stated "NOT-SO HUMBLE BRAG. OUR NEW SIGNATURE FRIES ARE FINALLY FINGER-LICKIN’ GOOD”, the ASA ruled that the ads caused "serious or widespread offence" by referring "to expletives in media targeted to a general audience which included children".
Tesco Mobile
In a similar vein, Tesco received a slap on the wrist and had its ads banned for referring to swearwords as well, with a series of ads that read: “What a load of shiitake”, “They’re taking the pistachio”, and “For fettuccine’s sake”.
A total of 52 people complained to the ASA, claiming that the ads were inappropriate for display where they could be seen by children. The ASA upheld the claims, despite Tesco Mobile defending itself as it didn't actually swear.
Pretty Little Thing
Back in 2022, clothing brand Pretty Little Thing was banned for using "sexually suggestive" images of a 16-year-old.
Fashion brand ambassador Alabama Barker was featured on the retailer’s website posing in tight-fitting, revealing clothing, with sexually suggestive imagery, alongside the caption: “Channel that teen dream realness with barely-there micro mini skirts.”
The allusion to "barely-there" clothing on an underage girl was deemed offensive and sexualised, earning the ad campaign a speedy ban.
The Vivit Experience
An email ad for The Vivit Experience, produced by ITAE Productions, missed the mark entirely for a Father's Day ad for a live dissection experience, titled "She’s Under The Patio".
It included a picture of the killer Fred West and read: “This week we take a look at the fathers famous for all the wrong reasons… Fred West became known in the 1990's when it was revealed him and his wife, Rosemary, were involved in 12 murders of young women in Gloucester.
“One of their victims was their own daughter… when she was missing they would often joke of her being ‘buried under the patio’. Take 10% off this Fathers Day.”
"We considered that using the murder of a young woman, in order to shock readers into clicking on the ad, was gratuitous and likely to cause serious offence," stated the ASA – to no-one's surprise.
The Otley Burger Company
Another play on a real-life crime that went down badly was the Otley Burger Company's ad linked to Madeleine McCann.
The ad, accompanied with pictures of the missing child, read: “With burgers this good, you’ll leave your kids at home. What’s the worst that could happen”.
The ASA branded the trivialising of events surrounding the disappearance of a child as both shocking and offensive and banned the ad entirely.
