In the UK, banned "sexually offensive" advertising smartphone

The Bureau of Advertising Standards of Great Britain imposed a ban on the television spot of Kazam, which advertised the “thinnest” smartphone, while using inappropriate visual images.

The ad depicts a girl who pulls tight-fitting jeans in front of the camera, then strokes and puts on a shirt. When the phone rings, the girl looks for the phone in the pockets of jeans, then finds it in the shirt. A voiceover says: “We represent the world's thinnest phone.”


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“Eight complaints were received about the insulting nature of advertising due to her overt sexuality and the objectification of women,” explained the decision of the UK Advertising Standards Bureau.

In her defense, Kazam said that she wanted to beat the standard script - she was ironing her shirt before going outside, and since the phone is very thin, she doesn’t even notice that it is in her pocket during ironing. The time for advertising was chosen to avoid showing to minors. They acknowledged that the scenes shown were “slightly sexy,” but they should not be considered offensive or aggressive.

However, the UK Advertising Standards Bureau decided otherwise. In their opinion, in advertising a woman is considered as an object. Most of the advertising time is devoted to showing the female body, including a number of close-ups. Thus, the visual range is not associated with the advertised product. The bureau also mentions the “seductive nature of music and voice overs”. As a result, the general style of advertising clearly indicates the objectification of women, which can be offensive to some viewers.

Probably, the decision of the regulator can cause only one reaction among advertising business professionals: the video was made really great if it caused such an emotional response. It was necessary to choose to show the program, which is definitely not watched by women, then there would be no complaints.