ASA Adjudication on Club La Salsa

Ad

A poster, for a lap dancing club, featured a woman dressed in underwear, stockings, suspenders and high heels. The text stated "100% PURE FUN! La Salsa, Pole Dancing Lap Dancing Beautiful Girls, Dancing: Just for you."

Issue

The complainant, who said the poster appeared near a Macdonald's restaurant and a children's museum in Halifax, objected that the ad was offensive and unsuitable to be seen by children.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Club La Salsa said their poster campaign was arranged through Maiden Outdoor, who advised on its compliance with the relevant legislation and codes of practice. They said they considered the ad was not offensive or harmful to children and pointed out that it had been approved by Maiden Outdoor.

Titan Outdoor Ltd (Titan), formerly Maiden Outdoor, said they believed the image used in the ad was acceptable and no more explicit than similar images in other posters on their sites; they referred to Wonderbra and Triumph bra ads. Titan said Club La Salsa operated a legitimate and licensed business and, as such, they had the right to promote their club through advertising. They also said they had received no complaints about the poster, which appeared on several other sites.  Titan pointed out that the childrens museum was over a mile from the poster site and that the MacDonalds restaurant was around 150 meters away, on the opposite side of the road and, they believed, the site was not immediately visible from the restaurant.

Assessment

Complaint not upheld

The ASA considered that, in the context of an ad for lap dancing clubs, viewers were unlikely to regard the womans pose as overly provocative or the image as too explicit. Although the poster was close to a MacDonalds restaurant, we noted the childrens museum referred to by the complainant was not in the immediate vicinity of the poster site. We considered that the position of the poster meant that it was unlikely to be viewed by unusually large numbers of children as the complainant had implied. We concluded that the poster was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence or harm to children.

We investigated the poster under CAP Code clauses 5.1 (Decency) and 47.2 (Children) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action required.