‘Confronting’ Honey Birdette in-store poster censured by ad watchdog
Ad Standards has banned another Honey Birdette in-store poster for being too sexy and subsequently “confronting”.
The ad, which was promoting the lingerie brand’s purple and gold ‘Prince’ set, features two women standing in revealing lingerie which exposes part of the womens groin.
The ‘Prince’ lingerie set which featured in the ad
The ad was deemed as inappropriate and a complaint said they felt “offended” and thought the ad objectified women.
Despite this, Ad Standrads said the ad didn’t objectify women as the poster was relevant to the product being sold.
Instead the board found the ad did include a very high level of nudity.
“The level of nudity was at the higher end of the scale and as such the image included on a poster that is visible to members of the community standing outside the business was not appropriate for the relevant broad audience which would likely include children,” Ad Standards said.
Honey Birdette did not provide a response to the ruling.
Abigail Dawson was Mumbrella's senior content journalist covering event content. She left Mumbrella to move into an agency role in 2020.
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Give these guys a break!
They are in Mumbrella every week for the same thing (liked Wicked Camper vans).
They are supposed to be provocative, FFS we are a fragile society.
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They’re welcome to be provocative in the appropriate spaces. General public venues such as malls are not appropriate places.
It’s soft porn. No one is saying it should be banned, simply that it should face the same restrictions as other adult material.
And I’ve said it before: let’s have similar advertising with male models, the equivalent sexualised underwear and solo and same sex poses, and see how “tame” people find it then.
Just because some people are inured to female bodies used in pornographic poses doesn’t mean we have to accept it as mainstream advertising on public display.
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@boominbabyboomer. These types of images are immoral and disgusting. Do you know where I could see a copy of it so I can continue to be outraged?
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Brand strategy and delivery completely on track using Ad Standards as a vehicle for promotion.
For the cost of a poster the HB brand has once again sucked in the serial complainers to help catapult the brand into the unpaid publicity and media trail.
They know exactly which store locations will garner the maximum complaint(s) and they have a swag of recently shot provocative imagery to roll out. Coupled with an owner (pretty much the only male involved in this retailer) who is more than happy to sit back and let them push the boundaries as long as the cash rolls in, don’t expect the ‘female’ management running this venture to stop anytime soon. If you have an issue with it maybe just look in a different direction next time you’re at a Westfield.
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100% accurate on the unpaid publicity and the deliberate placement within shopping centres. The store I am familiar with occupies a major corner within the centre and is in view of the area where they take photos of kids with Santa. Note: I don’t think the 7 year olds give a shit as their attention is focussed on Santa.
Their bored mums who make the complaints are actually fuelling this….its hilarious.
@Cynic…. your local Westfield is a great place to continue the outrage!
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Does the Ad Standards Board meet every Sunday after Church?
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Ad Standards is entitled to its opinion, in the interests of freedom of speech in Australia. But its directives should be ignored at all times. Advertising is not and never has been subject to an unelected body of Soviet-style bureaucrats and meddlers. These stickybeaks and their undergraduate social values must be ignored and held in contempt.
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The hilarious bit is it’s the same bored mums who in packs are openly outraged for the kiddies and then trip back and buy the stuff when not in the company of others.
@Anon1 – Which planet do you live on? Your comment regarding having men sexualised in the same way – I seem to be confronted by a certain ‘honey badger’ shirtless in his Tradie undies tightly fitting around his junk leaving very little to the imagination which is on TV, Outdoor, in-store and more, how is that different?
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The Ad Standards Board would definitely have a pic of Stalin up in their soviet style doomsday bunker
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