‘Sexist’ Exeter billboard to be removed following Advertising Standards Agency investigation
| Posted: October 21, 2014
The billboard promoting space for rent at Matford Business Centre
A billboard advertising office space in Exeter that caused a stir after residents complained that the poster was sexist is set to be removed.
The advert, promoting space for rent at Matford Business Centre in Exeter, featured a large chested woman in a bikini next to the slogan “Size IS important”.
After consideration by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) of complaints received, Matford Business Centre LTD has now agreed to withdraw the advertising without the need for a formal investigation:
ASA advised those who complained that the billboard objectified women and used sexually provocative imagery to sell an unrelated product/ service. In doing so the advert breached clauses 1.3 and 4.1 of the ASA code:
1.3 - Marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society.
4.1 - Marketing communications must not contain anything that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence. Particular care must be taken to avoid causing offence on the grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age. Compliance will be judged on the context, medium, audience, product and prevailing standards.
A total of 12 complaints were received.
The combination of innuendo and provocative imagery prompted a number of people to call for the removal of the poster on the grounds that it is “sexist” and “objectifies women”.
Among those taking action on the issue are members of Exeter Feminists. Group founder Ellis Taylor said at the time:
“The blatant objectification of women in this advert is completely unnecessary and it is disappointing to see an Exeter business supporting old fashioned ideas.
“I don’t think the business is aware of the damage a poster like this can cause, it reinforces the idea that women are objects purely for men and that it is okay to treat them in such a way.
“The poster needs to be removed and the business needs to recognise the level of sexism and objectification which it is associating itself with.”
At the time of the complaints Matford’s managing director, Harry Langley, defended the company’s decision to use the image.
“We needed an effective way to advertise our office space. Looking at examples of adverts that have worked for other companies in the past, we saw that word play and images of women were the most successful,” he said.
“We combined the two factors with the aim of creating a humorous and memorable way of promoting our facilities. We compared our advert with other images around at the moment and judged it was acceptable.
“We have had some complaints, but we’ve also had people saying that we live in a liberal society and there’s nothing wrong with it. I’m in a situation where I can’t please everyone all of the time.”
Mr Langley said that if the ASA ruled the advert was inappropriate, he would be happy to “put his hands up” and apologise.
Following the ruling he said:
“The advert is coming down, in fact it should have come down over a week ago. We haven’t renewed our agreement with billboard company.
“I am happy to remove it, we didn’t mean to offend anyone and the decision was based on successful ads through history. A play on words and a memorable image. It was supposed to be tongue in cheek but obviously some people have taken offence and I’m not in the business of causing offence.”
7 comments
" The blatant objectification of women in this advert is completely unnecessary and it is disappointing to see an Exeter business supporting old fashioned ideas" If you open your eyes you'll see that the objectification of men has now become acceptable instead.
Isn't this more sexist to men than women? its a clear reference to the size of a mans appendage (and how it may not be adequate).
Thanks!, now whats my mum gonna do for work?
What a joke, what a pathetic attempt to advertise office space, there is no way I would rent office space from these guys, no moral fibre. Judging by the response from the managing director I can see his days are numbered as a business manager, cut loose your dead weight and get a real business man to manage your centre. What a ridiculous response, he's making himself look like a complete buffoon, where did he do his research in the 60's watching "carry on" movies. Really embarrassing for a professional business to associate with such tripe, they're clearly desperate, to have to resort to sex to sell office space, and judging from their bad choice and laughable response from the managing director, it's easy to see why they have so much spare office space, poor management, time to move on Mr Harry Langley, what an embarrassing poor business choice you've made.. best of luck in your new job, you'll need it with poor judgement calls like this mate..
I bet if the same slogan had been used that featured a male groin area that there wouldn't have been a dicky bird said. Are some women so insecure that they see anything that features scantily clad females as sexist? What about the topless men who are seen daily in newspapers? If they were topless women the feminists and fellow travellers would be up in arms as usual. I think pandering to the usual suspects as the ASA has done here is actually patronising to women, including normal women (the vast majority), who wouldn't give a fig about such adverts.
Congratulations to those who promote the site as they have clearly got more advertising than they would have expected from the poster itself. I have been down Cowick Street numerous times recently and haven't seen it. Presumably if they had said that the space for rent at Matford was ideally suitable for a plastic surgery business the clause preventing sexually provocative imagery to sell an unrelated product/ service would not have applied. 12 complaints, 'serious or widespread complaints', really? I don't think so. Have people not got more important things to worry about?
Good riddance. Now get rid of the image of the fake tanned bikini clad girl that dominates (and cheapens) the entrance to Exe Bridge from Cowick Street. Encouraging the gullible to risk the horror of skin cancer with this gaudy sign seems immoral.