An ad in The Sunday Times Style Magazine, for clothing company Diesel (London) Ltd brought in several complaints against the company.
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) website announced today that the ad showed a naked man from the rear with three pairs of women's legs straddling his body.
Position of the women's legs around the man's body overtly was mainly objected upon as it suggested sexual behaviour and was therefore offensive, as per the complainants.
Claiming that the image was unsuitable, children could chance on them, they feared.
Allegations of the ad being racists was also thrown in by one complainant who thought the ad carried a black model.
In its adjudication, ASA notes that Diesel (UK) Ltd said the ad was no longer in use and that it was last used in The Sunday Times Style Magazine.
They maintained that Style Magazine was a leading voice of fashion with an adult readership who would be challenged by the ad and were likely to understand the irony and fun it presented.
They said the overall aim of the ad was to show how Diesel challenged the everyday view of life. The Sunday Times Style Magazine said the ad was well designed and photographed within a contemporary fashion environment.
They added that because it had already been run in other publications, they considered it to be acceptable.
The ASA noted Diesel's assurance that the ad was no longer appearing.
We also noted the surreal and stylized nature of the image but considered the nudity and the position of the women in relation to the man's body was a clear allusion to sexual behaviour and unsuitable for a newspaper supplement with a broad readership.
We considered, however, that the use of a male model with dark skin was intended to create contrast with the light skin of the women's legs and was unlikely to be seen as racist.
We concluded that the sexual image was likely to cause serious or widespread offence and was unsuitable in a magazine that could be seen by children.
Advertising Standards Authority
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