There’s a TV ad for a Kazam smartphone, that advertises the phone as “the world’s slimmest handset”. Well, the ad got banned by the Advertising Standards Authority, for being too explicit and for “objectifying women”.
The ad can be seen below and it’s quite long for a product like this. The TV campaign shows a woman dressed only in underwear slowly walking around her house, doing some sensual moves and ironing a shirt. Said shirt has the Kazam phone in one pocket and the woman forgot it inside, because it’s so slim, till it started ringing. There are long closeups of the woman’s bottom and cleavage, which is probably what got the ad banned.
The ASA received eight complaints that the ad was too offensive, because it was sexual and objectified women. Kazam only claims that the ad is a play on the idea that the phone is so slim, you could forget it in a pocket. The company also insists that the clip was shown during proper programmes and hours. Clearcast gave the go ahead to show the ad, saying the scenes were only slightly sexual.
Previously the ad has been given a restriction from being shown around programmes that are likely to be viewed by children. Now, the restriction has been turned into a ban, but you can view it online. Is the ban justified?
via the guardian
