ASA Adjudication on Grace of Brighton

Ad

A poster, for a lap dancing club, showed a woman in underwear kneeling on the floor. She held a foaming bottle of champagne in her hand. The cork from the bottle was flying through the air. Text stated “BRIGHTON’S FIRST FULLY NUDE LAP DANCING CLUB … Where fantasy becomes reality.”

Issue

The complainants objected that the poster was offensive and inappropriate for display where it could be seen by children.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

During the course of a telephone conversation, Grace of Brighton (Grace) said they had not meant to cause offence.  However, they did not respond fully to the ASA's enquiries.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA was concerned by Grace's lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code clause 2.6 (Non-response).  We reminded them of their obligations under the Code and told them to respond promptly in future.

We noted the model was wearing underwear.  We also noted, however, she was depicted holding a foaming bottle of champagne. Although we considered that children were unlikely to understand the sexual imagery, we considered that many adults would see the woman holding the bottle as an allusion to a sexual act.  We concluded that the image was likely to cause serious or widespread offence and was inappropriate for display on a poster.

The poster breached CAP Code clauses  2.6 (Non-response) and 5.1 (Decency).

Action

The ad should not reappear in its current form.  We asked CAP to advise its members of the problem with Grace.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)