Gucci Gets Go-Ahead for Pubic Hair Ad
Wed Feb 26,10:26 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!
LONDON (Reuters) - A Gucci advertisement featuring a woman with her pubic hair cropped in the shape of a letter "G" got the go-ahead from Britain's tough advertising watchdog on Wednesday.
Sixteen outraged members of the public had complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that the Italian fashion house's advert was indecent.
But the ASA, which has a reputation for taking a harder line than its counterparts in other European countries, judged the advertisement was targeted at sophisticated, adult fashion magazine readers who would not be offended.
"The image was intimate rather than aggressive and... although it was likely to be considered tasteless by some readers, it was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence," the ASA said in a statement.
The advert, which is running in British fashion magazines, shows a woman wearing an open silk kimono and underwear which she has pulled part-way down to reveal the letter "G." A man kneels in front, staring at her pubic hair.
The advertisers aimed to provoke and viewed the image as "the ultimate ironic pun for a sexy brand in a logo-led age," the ASA said. Gucci believed "the image addressed today's reality that men and women's sexual roles were changing," the statement added.
French brewers Kronenbourg poked fun at Britain's tight rules with a recent advert depicting a naked woman with her breasts blacked out next to the slogan "If Britain were French, this poster wouldn't be censored."
The Gucci photo was taken by Peruvian fashion photographer Mario Testino, who is well known in Britain for his shoots of celebrities and some members of the royal family including the late Princess Diana.
Gucci could not immediately be reached for comment on the ASA decision.
I'm sure we won't see this ad on this side of the Atlantic....OR WILL WE?
Gucci Gets Go-Ahead for Private Area Ad
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