Boohoo t-shirt advert banned for objectifying women
A Boohoo advert for a T-shirt has been banned due to it being deemed likely to cause serious offence.
The ad, which was displayed on the fashion retailer’s website, featured three images of a model wearing the T-shirt with only thong-style bikini bottoms and trainers. One of the images showed the model lifting the garment as if to remove it and exposing the skin on her stomach and side.
A complainant to the Advertising Standards Authority said they believed the images objectified and sexualised women and challenged whether the ad was offensive, harmful and irresponsible.
In response, Boohoo said the images were part of its swimwear category and explained that the model was wearing the T-shirt with a bikini. However, the retailer said it understood the importance of the issues raised and removed the images from its website.
The ASA said it had concluded that two of the images were “sexually suggestive”. In its assessment, it explained: “The ASA understood that although it had been presented as part of the swimwear category, the advertised product was an oversized T-shirt and the product listing appeared as a result of searches for T-shirts or tops.
“We also noted that neither the partial nudity nor the bikini bottoms were relevant to the product and that the images did not show the product as it would usually be worn.
“For those reasons, we concluded that the ad objectified and sexualised women. It was therefore irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence.”
The ASA ruled that the ad must not appear again in its current form. It added: “We told Boohoo.com UK to ensure that future ads were prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society and that they did not cause serious or widespread offence or harm by objectifying women.”
