ASA Ruling on Leder Raeder
Leder Raeder t/a
petersen_project_world
Unknown
Date:
4 February 2015
Media:
Internet (classified)
Sector:
Retail
Number of complaints:
1
Agency:
None
Complaint Ref:
A14-286576
Ad
An ad on eBay for car steering wheels featured an image of a steering wheel next to an image of a woman posing in lingerie.
Issue
The complainant, who noted the image of the woman did not relate to the product, challenged whether the ad was sexist and therefore offensive.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
Response
Leder Raeder t/a Petersen_project_world said the ad was designed to be relevant to a particular section of their female customer base.
eBay confirmed that they had removed the listing from their website and had reminded the advertiser of the need to comply with their policies.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA considered the image of the women in lingerie bore no relevance to the advertised product, and considered its inclusion was likely to be seen to degrade and demean women and that it was therefore sexist and likely to cause both serious and widespread offence. We welcomed eBay's actions but noted it was Petersen_project_world's responsibility to ensure its advertising was in compliance with the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 4.1 (Harm and offence).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Petersen_project_world not to use similar images in its advertising in future.
