ASA Adjudication on Fat Boy Imports
Fat Boy Imports
Unit 10
Weavers Corner
Hampson Street
Horwich
BL6 7JH
Date:
27 July 2011
Media:
Internet (on own site)
Sector:
Retail
Number of complaints:
1
Complaint Ref:
A11-152322
Ad
A banner ad for "Pump n Ride" inner tubes, on a website for bicycle accessories on 15 March 2011, featured an image of a woman wearing a black leather cap and studded leather bra, holding a length of rubber tubing. Text stated "She might go down on you ...", followed by an arrow pointing at the woman. Further text stated "These won't!", followed by an arrow pointing at a box of "Pump n Ride" inner tubes.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ad was offensive, because she believed it was sexist and objectified women.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
Response
Fat Boy Imports said it had not been their intention to cause offense and they pointed out that a large proportion of their business came from women. They explained that the ad was originally placed on their website several years ago and was removed in 2008 when they ceased to sell the product. They could not explain how the ad had reappeared on the website. They pointed out that, once they had become aware of the complaint, they had removed the ad immediately.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA considered that the image of the woman in the ad, and the text "She might go down on you ..." was clearly intended as a sexual innuendo, implying that the woman may be willing to engage in oral sex. We considered that the ad objectified women and we noted FatSpanner's comment that a large proportion of its business came from women. Although in itself not normally an issue, we also noted that the image bore no relation to the product being advertised. We considered the unrelated sexual imagery had the potential to exacerbate any offence caused. We therefore concluded that the ad, which objectified women through sexual imagery and innuendo in a manner unrelated to the product advertised, was likely to cause serious or widespread offence when published on a website which attracted a large proportion of female consumers.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 4.1 (Harm and offence).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form.
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