'Sexually offensive' advertising lorry is banned from appearing in public
AN ADVERTISING lorry which turned heads in Ilfracombe has been banned from appearing in public.
The lorry, featuring pictures of half-naked women in seductive poses, has been banned by an advertising watchdog.
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OUTLAWED: The advertising van parked outside the Imperial Hotel in Ilfracombe. Picture: Flick Cowley
The Playboy van, which appeared in Ilfracombe in May, was deemed sexually provocative and offensive by the Advertising Standards Agency.
Earlier this year the Journal reported that the lorry had parked in front of two hotels in Ilfracombe – The Imperial and The Osborne – which were frequented by elderly clientele.
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The van featured an advert for the brand's saucy television chat channel.
Phil Barry, managing director of Playboy TV Chat, said the positioning of the lorry was deliberate because most calls to the channel came from North Devon and many were from elderly people. He described the people of North Devon as a "naughty bunch".
However, the ASA said it received one complaint about the van which suggested the images were overtly sexual and unsuitable for public display.
Playboy argued that the images were cheeky rather than sexual and there was no descriptive text which brought undue attention to the nature of the service.
In its assessment the ASA said the images were sexually provocative and irresponsible.
It said: "The ads had the potential to be seen by a large number of people, including children, who were likely to find images of scantily clad women in overtly sexual and provocative poses, offensive.
"They were likely to cause serious and widespread offence and were irresponsible.
"We concluded that the ads were unsuitable for outdoor display and must not appear again in outdoor advertising."
Comments
by DJANGO6421
Wednesday, December 12 2012, 6:53PM
“MPstink1 I assume you are one of the elderly hotel residents! past being able to appreciate the female form.”
by Tony248
Wednesday, December 12 2012, 2:23PM
“Only in Britain. "No sex, please, we're British"
Totally agree with Django. One complaint from all the hundreds, perhaps thousands of people who must have seen it..... except that Neanderthals wouldn't have found it offensive! The Taliban- definitely yes.”
by MPstink1
Tuesday, December 11 2012, 11:09PM
“Sad django6421...when you grow up, which takes a long time, you just may understand.”
by DJANGO6421
Thursday, December 06 2012, 4:34PM
“Who are the ASA? NEANDERTHALS.How can they describe that as sexually offensive?”