The UK advertising watchdog has banned a Boohoo advert that was deemed ‘sexually suggestive’ and ‘objectifying’ towards women.
The model in the images wears a thong bikini bottom with an oversized T-shirt, while kneeing and sat with her legs apart.
A third image showed her lifting the top up, as if to take it off.
The watchdog deemed it likely to cause serious or widespread offence or harm due to the way it objectifies women.
A complaint was sent to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), saying that the images were offensive, harmful and irresponsible.
Boohoo said the images were part of their swimwear category, but they were used on the buying page for the T-shirt which was part of the issue for the ASA.
The shopping site have since removed the images and said they understand the importance of the issues raised.
The ASA concluded two of the images were ‘sexually suggestive’ while the third showcased the model’s exposed skin rather than the product.
The regulator added: ‘We also noted that neither the partial nudity nor the bikini bottoms were relevant to the product and that the images did not show the product as it would usually be worn.
‘For those reasons, we concluded that the ad objectified and sexualised women. It was therefore irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence.’
Boohoo have come under fire by the ASA before after sending an email campaign subjected as ‘Send nudes’ to promote nude toned clothing.
The ASA said it was irresponsible to play on the idea of sending sexual images, which are ‘potentially harmful’.
The ASA ruled the images in this new case must not appear again in their current form, saying: ‘We told Boohoo.com UK to ensure that future ads were prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society, and that they did not cause serious or widespread offence or harm by objectifying women.’
A Boohoo Group spokesman said: ‘We are disappointed by the findings of this ruling because we pride ourselves in our inclusive, body positive imagery.
‘Our marketing reflects the vibrant and confident culture of our brand, and is not designed to intentionally cause offence.
‘We removed the associated images from our website when we received details of the complaint from the ASA.’
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