LINGERIE brand Bluebella has had a rude awakening with its latest ad, which has been slammed as “exploitative” and “pornographic” by angry sports stars.
The controversial campaign, which aimed to promote ‘body positivity’, features Team GB Rugby Sevens stars Ellie Boatman, Jasmine Joyce and Celia Quansah in racy lingerie as they play.
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However, former tennis star Martina Navratilova, former swimmer Sharron Davies and former British runner Mara Yamauchi led a wave of critics who branded the ad “sexist”.
Davies, who won silver at the 1980 Olympics in the 400 meter medley, took to social media to say: “What is it – this is a completely disgraceful campaign, whose stupid idea was it?
“Oh yes, let’s put professional sports women in porn underwear! Extremely regressive… stereotypes once again.”
Long-distance runner Mara Yamauchi added on her own page: “WT*F?! This is exploitative, demeaning, sexist and regressive garbage.
“Of course the target audience is men. Portraying women as sexual objects will not encourage teenage girls to take up sport.”
The ad also divided audiences, with one mother calling it “totally shocking”, while a fan insisted: “I love the celebration of a wider variety of body types; These women look strong and powerful!”
And it’s not the first time a racy ad has crossed the line with its raunchy content, prompting a furious backlash.
Here, we take a look at the campaigns that left fans divided and shocked the world.
Beach body ready
Nine years ago, Protein World released its infamous ‘Are You Beach Body Ready?’ advertisement, which promoted their weight loss products.
The clumsy wording was considered shameful and outdated, and led to a huge public debate about perceptions and expectations about women’s body image.
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A change.org petition calling for the ad to be banned was signed by more than 65,000 people in just two weeks in April 2015.
The campaign was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) on April 30 of that year.
However, the backlash saw the company earn £1 million in four days after sales unintentionally increased, according to Forbes.
Shortly after it was released in the UK, Sadiq Khan announced plans to ban advertisements that demeaned women on the London Underground.
He said: “As a father of two teenage girls, I am extremely concerned about this type of advertising which can demean people, especially women, and make them feel ashamed of their bodies. It’s time for it to end.
“No one should feel pressured, whilst traveling on the subway or bus, by unrealistic expectations surrounding their bodies, and I want to send a clear message to the advertising industry about this.”
Calvin Klein Storm
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Calvin Klein landed itself in hot water after a campaign that saw them place 15-year-old actress Brooke Shields alongside a suggestive slogan.
In the television version of the ads, she said the now infamous line: “Do you know what goes on between me and my Calvins? Anything.”
The campaign caused an uproar in 1980s America. ABC and CBS banned the ads, but there was no apology from Calvin Klein.
Recently, Brooke, 59, insisted that she had no problem with the ads and that Calvin Klein’s aim was to be provocative.
“It was a sentence. It wasn’t ‘I’m not wearing panties’ or ‘come’ wasn’t written differently, it was coming, I was like, ‘what’s the problem?’” she said on The Late Show with Steven Colbert.
Brooke previously addressed the announcement in an interview with Vogue.
“I didn’t think it was about underwear or sexual in nature,” Shields said. “What was shocking to me was being reprimanded by, ‘Oh, you knew this was happening. That’s what you thought. You were having these thoughts.'”
History repeating
Calvin Klein clearly didn’t learn its lesson from the backlash against Brooke when it produced an ad in 1995 featuring models who looked too young.
The ads were placed all over TV, billboards and on the sides of buses.
Critics criticized the measure for sexualizing people who appeared to be under the age of consent, and child welfare groups expressed concerns.
This prompted the US Department of Justice to get involved and open an investigation into whether any laws had been broken by the controversial ads, according to BuzzFeed.
However, the inquiry was dropped when Calvin Klein provided evidence that all the models were adults.
The company took out a full-page ad in The New York Times, claiming it was “surprised” by the backlash and that its vision was “misunderstood by some.”
They also said they would remove all ads.
Gucci G-spot
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In 2003, Gucci made headlines with its provocative Public Enemy campaign.
It featured 24-year-old Carmen Kass pulling down her underwear to reveal a letter G shaved into her pubic hair.
On his knees in front of her was a man in a provocative position.
This sparked an uproar from the Family Education Trust and Mediawatch UK, although only 16 members of the public complained to the ASA.
Daily Mail columnist Bel Mooney condemned the brand, calling the ad’s creators “no better than pimps and those who advertise sexual services in phone booths.”
Gucci argued that the ad was a collaboration with iconic fashion photographer Mario Testino, only appeared in four high fashion magazines and was never intended to be offensive.
Although it wasn’t banned, it remains one of the most controversial ads of all time.
Udder controversy
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French luxury cosmetics company Sisley was criticized in 2001 for a bold advertisement featuring a cow’s udder.
Model Josie Maran was photographed in a sexually suggestive position, drinking milk straight from a cow’s udder.
The campaign features other photos of models on a farm, but none of them caused as much controversy.
The photos, taken by Terry Richardson, were banned because they were sexually suggestive.
Eventually, the ad was banned.
Product placement
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Tom Ford set pulses racing and caused outrage with his 2007 For Men fragrance campaign.
The photo, photographed by Terry Richardson, showed a bottle of perfume strategically placed between a woman’s open legs.
Another photo from the campaign showed a bottle placed between a woman’s breasts, which was held by hands with red nail polish.
In both images, the woman also appears to be lubricated.
The “Tom Ford For Men: Tom Ford’s first men’s fragrance” campaign was banned in Italy and other countries.
In the UK, it was not banned as it was considered to suit the high-end sexual nature of the Tom Ford brand.
Expensive reaction
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However, the brand found itself in hot water again in 2015 with the Black Orchid perfume campaign.
The main image showed Cara Delevingne naked in the bathtub, surrounded by black orchids and holding perfume.
The public was outraged, and they complained to the UK ASA asking for it to be banned.
In its decision, the ASA said the campaign could remain but could not be placed within 100 meters of a school.
Explaining its decision, the council said: “Although they [Tom Ford] have accepted that the model was nude…they believe that neither her pose nor facial expression were sexually suggestive and were classical in nature, and were depicted in art.”
Discovering everything
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Yves Saint Laurent is another luxury brand that is not afraid to cause controversy with its advertising campaigns.
But many think he went too far when he showed a model completely naked, including his penis, in promotional photos for the men’s fragrance M7.
The 2002 advert starring Samuel de Cubber saw hundreds of people complain to the ASA.
After it aired in France, his parents received mocking photos, while Samuel saw many women sending fan letters offering to meet him, according to The New York Times.
The ad was banned in the USA, with a high-waisted version being used.
Then-creative director Tom Ford argued in favor of the ad, saying, “Perfume is worn on the skin, so why hide the body?”
YSL was already in trouble two years earlier because of its Opium ad featuring Sophie Dahl completely nude and in a sexual position.
It received 730 complaints, making it one of the most complained about in ASA’s history.
The watchdog decided that all the posters should be removed because they were “degrading” to women, “very sexually suggestive” and offensive.
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