Ad description
Three billboard posters promoted T Brewer & Co Ltd, an independent wood importer, seen on 17 August 2015. All the ads featured a picture of a woman wearing denim shorts, a hard hat, high-visibility vest and a cropped T-shirt, exposing her midriff, bearing the text "T Brewer INCORPORATING Enfield TIMBER".
a. The first poster stated "TIMBER DRIVE THRU YOU ORDER WE LOAD". The woman was pictured pouting, and holding a tape measure and notepad.
b. The second poster stated "CUTTING SERVICE WHILE U WAIT". The woman was pictured holding a beam of wood.
c. The third poster featured a map which indicated the store locations. The woman was shown smiling and holding a power tool.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ads were offensive, because they were sexist and objectified women.
Response
T Brewer & Co Ltd said that the posters had been in place for three years or more and they had not received a single complaint during that time. They stated that many people commented that the ads were more cheerful than the mundane ads which previously appeared on those billboards and they believed the ads communicated to their customers that they were a business which did not take itself too seriously, but also reinforced the fact that they provided an excellent service.
T Brewer felt that they had produced a series of billboards that were inoffensive and whilst being playful, they were not overt in any way. They stated that the woman in the ad was wearing, holding and using products that they sold from their premises. They said that the ads were promoting those products and also other services that their company provided, not just to the construction industry which was a significant part of their business, but also to any entity or individual.
Enfield Estates Ltd, the site owner of the billboards on which the ads appeared, said this was the first time they had heard of any complaints regarding the posters on the site. They said they had carried out a small survey with three men and three women of different ages, all of whom agreed that the ads were not offensive.
Assessment
Not upheld
The ASA noted that the ads were displayed as a set of three. We noted that the woman in the ads was depicted in various poses: in ad (a), the woman was standing with her hips thrusted to the side and with her chest pushed forward, whilst pouting; in ad (b), she was bending forward in a manner that emphasised her hips, whilst holding a beam of wood in front of her crotch; in ad (c), the woman was shown to be holding up a power tool.
The use of the woman in the ads bore no relevance to the products or the services advertised and we acknowledged that some people would find the ads distasteful. The woman’s poses, particularly in ads (a) and (b), appeared to be suggestive. However, we noted the ads were no more than mildly sexual in nature and did not contain any form of nudity. Furthermore, we did not consider that the woman was portrayed as a sexual object in the ads and that any innuendo that existed in the ads, for example, the way in which the timber was held in ad (c), was subtle. For those reasons, we concluded that the ads were unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.
We investigated the ads under CAP Code (Edition 12) rule
4.1
4.1
Marketing communications must not contain anything that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence. Particular care must be taken to avoid causing offence on the grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age. Compliance will be judged on the context, medium, audience, product and prevailing standards.
Marketing communications may be distasteful without necessarily breaching this rule. Marketers are urged to consider public sensitivities before using potentially offensive material.
The fact that a product is offensive to some people is not grounds for finding a marketing communication in breach of the Code.
(Harm and offence), but did not find them in breach.
Action
No further action necessary.
