Femfresh bikini line advert banned for objectifying women

Commercial for Church & Dwight UK brand rebuked by Advertising Standards Agency for featuring models dancing in swimwear and briefs

An ad for female shaving products has been banned for objectifying women and the likelihood that it would cause serious or widespread offence.

The video-on-demand ad for Femfresh bikini line shaving products, seen on ITV Player and 4oD in March and April, featured several women wearing briefs and swimwear while dancing.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said 17 viewers complained that the ad objectified women and portrayed them in an overly sexualised way, and was therefore offensive and socially irresponsible.

Church & Dwight UK, which owns the brand, said the ad was aimed at a target audience of women aged 18 to 34, and the dance sequence was choreographed by a female choreographer and featured moves regularly performed during dance warm-ups, yoga, Pilates and other forms of exercise.

It claimed close-up shots were used to illustrate that the product could give consumers a smooth bikini line.

The ASA said: “Even taking into account the nature of the product, we considered that it had been presented in an overly sexualised way that objectified women.

“We concluded that the ad was likely to cause serious or widespread offence and therefore breached the code.”

It ruled that the ad must not appear again in its current form, adding: “We told Church & Dwight not to use advertising that objectified women and which was likely to cause serious or widespread offence to promote their products.”

Press Association