ASA Adjudication on NH Hoteles SA

Ad

An internet banner ad appearing on Lastminute.com titled “The Organisers. Operation Bikini.” The ad featured an image of an adult woman alongside a young girl posing with her hand on her hip. Both were dressed in bikinis.

Issue

The complainant challenged that the ad was offensive because it showed a young girl in a sexually provocative pose.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

NH Hoteles said the ad was a portion of a larger campaign known as "VERANO THE ORGANISERS"; they argued that the original ad made clear it referred to holiday reservations.  They said the banner ad should be viewed in the context of the overall campaign.  They said the ad targeted those who would like to book a summer holiday and wearing of bikinis in this context was normal.  They believed the interpretation that the girl was shown in a "sexually provocative" pose was subjective and unlikely to be what most readers would think when viewing the ad.  They nevertheless stated that the ad would not appear again in future.

Lastminute.com said the ad appeared on a rotational basis on their website away from the main booking path.  The ad appeared in error and once they became aware of it, they removed it immediately.  Lastminute.com said that they had amended their procedures to ensure that a similar incident would not occur again.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted  the banner ad was a portion of a larger campaign ad by NH Hoteles. However, the banner ad appeared in isolation on Lastminute.com and we did not agree with NH Hoteles argument that it would be seen as part of the campaign as a whole.  We acknowledged that some readers might think the image of a child in a bikini acceptable in the context of an ad for a holiday. However, we noted the young girl was not shown in a typical holiday scenario appropriate for her age, but rather shown in a bikini, striking a pose akin to that of a fashion model alongside an adult model. We considered that the image was likely to be seen to sexualise children in an irresponsible manner and therefore to cause offence.

The ad breached CAP Code clauses 2.2 (Social responsibility), 5.1 (Offence) and 47.2 (Children).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)