ASA Ruling on Lightinthebox (UK) Ltd

1. & 2. Upheld

The ASA was concerned by Lightinthebox (UK) Ltd's lack of substantive response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code rule 1.7 (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to provide a substantive response to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.

The first image showed a partially transparent black thong from both the front and back. In the photograph taken from the front, the model's pubic hair was visible through the fabric, and in the photograph taken from behind her buttocks were entirely uncovered. The second image showed a white thong from both the front and the back and the third showed the lower torso and groin area of a woman lying on her back, with her knees bent and her legs partially apart, pulling at the sides of a black thong. The fourth image featured the upper torso of a woman wearing a flesh-coloured bra.

We noted that the ad had appeared on the website of a popular online auction company and understood that it had not been targeted towards any specific audience. Although ads for lingerie might reasonably feature women in limited amounts of clothing, we considered that the models' poses and the use in all but one instance of close-up photographs focusing on the buttocks or groin area rendered the content of the ad overtly sexual. We concluded that that content was likely to cause widespread offence in the context in which it appeared and was unsuitable for untargeted display.

The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 1.3 (Responsible advertising) and 4.1 (Harm and offence).