Three
posters for Pulse & Cocktails sex shops:
a. A large poster sited on a road in Hitchin,
Hertfordshire, seen in September 2011, stated in large text SEXy ADULT
STORE. An image next to the text showed a woman in a bunny girl
outfit, posing with her finger to her open lips.
b. A large poster, which replaced ad (a) sited on a road
in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, seen in October 2011, stated in large text
SEXy ADULT STORE. An image next to the text showed a woman dressed in a
French maid's outfit, holding a feather duster.
c. A large poster sited on a dual carriageway in
Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, seen in October 2011, stated in large text SEXY
SUPERSTORE. An image next to the text showed a woman dressed in a French
maid's outfit, holding a feather duster.
Issues:
-
A member of the public and a local councillor
challenged whether ad (a) was unsuitable to be seen by children.
-
The local councillor also challenged whether ad (a)
was offensive.
-
A member of the public challenged whether ad (b) was
offensive and unsuitable to be seen by children.
-
Two members of the public, who considered ad (c) was
demeaning to women, challenged whether it was offensive and unsuitable
to be seen by children.
Cocktails Ltd said that all their advertising was done
in-house and they had used various forms of media including radio, press and
billboard since starting the business in 1997. This advertising had always
followed a similar format, promoting a sexy shopping theme, including
their company name Pulse & Cocktails and also wording used on the
store signage to describe the store as either a Sexy Superstore or a
Sexy Adult Store instead of the traditional Sex Shop. They
said they had always used the word sexy to describe their stores as
it was less harsh than the word sex.
They said that the images used on their posters and in
the press were of models dressed in fancy dress costume and these varied
slightly, depending on the season and had ranged from a Bunny Girl costume,
Miss Santa, a Sexy Maid and a Cow Girl. These costumes were not skimpy and
were now so mainstream that they could be purchased from general, high
street clothing stores and supermarkets. The images used in their
advertising were direct from the costume manufacturers and in addition to
the advertising, the costumes and images were displayed on their store
windows and mannequins.
Cocktails Ltd said that their posters were intended to
have a sexier edge because they were advertising their business but they
were not intended to be offensive, demeaning to women or overtly sexual,
so as to be harmful to children.
Cocktails Ltd stated that they selected the sites for
the posters based on proximity to local stores and had not taken into
consideration whether or not they were likely to be seen by children.
Cocktails Ltd finished by saying that they had seven billboard campaigns at
sites in Leeds, Hitchin, Cheltenham, Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle and
Gloucester, which were all within close proximity to one of their stores.
These sites had run continuously for several years and had been chosen
specifically because of their locations. They said that they did not run
generic billboard campaigns randomly throughout the country and the posters
advertised specific stores and were purely used for directional purposes to
guide customers travelling by car, on to the correct road. '
ASA Assessment: 1, 2, 3 & 4 Not upheld
The ASA noted the complainants' concerns and we
considered that the images on each poster were mildly sexual. We also noted
that the text on posters (a) and (b) highlighted the letters SEX in
the word SEXy and taking into account the service advertised on each
of the posters along with the text and the images, we considered that the
main message of the posters was of a sexual nature. However, we considered
that the posters were not overtly sexual and were therefore suitable for
outdoor advertising.
We did, however, consider that because the posters were
of a sexual nature they were unsuitable to be seen by children and should be
subject to a placement restriction and should therefore not appear within
100m of schools. In the case of each poster, we noted that this was already
the case.
We investigated the posters under CAP Code rules 1.3
(Social responsibility) and 4.1 (Harm and offence) but did not find them in
breach. Action
Lingerie specialist Triumph International is negotiating the acquisition of
UK stores owned by ailing underwear retailer La Senza.
