The UK Ad Watchdog Gets Its Knickers In A Twist Over An Ad Offering a Free “Boob Job”, But A Topless Woman Biting the Leg Of A Man Showing His Bare Buttocks – In Vogue No Less

ASA didn’t mind the double page spread of before and after pictures of British model Jordan who several years ago underwent what has since been the most talked-about breast enlargement in British history, and her breasts are probably the most photographed in the UK today. Nor did it mind breast pictures ranging from A cup to G cup for the “girlfriend” to choose what was right for her.

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What ASA was more worried about was that the ad might “coerce women into having breast enlargement surgery. We considered that, because breast enlargement surgery was a serious surgical procedure that could cause physical and psychological damage, the ad was irresponsible,” ASA adjudicated.

ASA turned down objections that the ad was offensive because it insulted and objectified women, nor did it find the ad misleading when it said, tongue-in-cheek, that enlarging breasts would “transform her into a happier, more generous, intelligent, spiritual, interesting, witty, caring and politically-aware version of the slightly second-rate person she is today.”

The magazine publisher stressed that although the prize advertised was the “boob job” in actual fact it was £4,000 cash that could be spent any way the winner wanted, but ASA said that was not really made clear.

Zoo (circulation 260,3178 weekly) is aimed at men in their 20s. It is in a fierce circulation war with rival Nuts (circulation (304,751)

In a separate development announced before the adjudication, Jordan, who recently gave birth to her second child, said she is going in for more breast surgery – but this time to reduce their size. She recently signed as the new face of British lingerie brand Young Attitude, which caters to larger sizes, but in actual fact “new face” .is a bit of a misnomer since it’s not really her face that people look at.

Meanwhile a shoe designer has been admonished for an advertisement appearing in two British glossy fashion magazines showing a topless girl biting the leg of a man with one hand on his bare buttocks and his pants around his ankles. Three readers thought it was nothing more than gratuitous nudity that was unsuitable to be seen by children.

ASA didn’t seem to mind the ad as much as it was put out by the refusal of Patrick Cox to respond to its inquiries. It said the ad was “unlikely to offend readers who were familiar with provocative and sexual images in modern magazines such as Vogue” but it told Cox he had the responsibility to respond to ASA’s inquiries in a prompt manner..

Provocative or not, at least we can be grateful Vogue did not run a contest in which the first prize was buying enhancements for the reader’s boyfriend.

Lastly, even the mighty Barclays Bank has fallen foul of ASA .for its ad showing a man’s swollen face after being stung by a bee. The man eventually underwent a series of mishaps meant to be humorous, but 293 complainants didn’t see the humor.

They said the ad was offensive to people who suffer allergies and it made light of a potentially fatal situation. ASA agreed.

But one scene did bring home memories and raised a few eyebrows. It showed a policeman with his foot on the man’s body as another photographed him.

ASA said that was OK, but doesn’t it sound rather familiar to some prison incidents in Iraq not that long ago, and there that most certainly was found not to be OK.

The UK Ad Watchdog Gets Its Knickers In A Twist Over An Ad Offering a Free “Boob Job”, But A Topless Woman Biting the Leg Of A Man Showing His Bare Buttocks – In Vogue No Less – That’s Ok!