UK’s ASA bans Femfresh’s advertisement

The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned an advertisement for Femfresh Intimate shaving range for objectifying women.

The shaving collection, which included bikini line shaving products, is owned by Church & Dwight. Seen on ITV Player and 4oD in March and April this year, the advert is reported to feature multiple women wearing briefs and swimwear.

The regulatory authority has reported to have received 17 complaints stating that the advert was offensive and socially irresponsible.

The ASA said: “Even taking into account the nature of the product, we considered that it had been presented in an overly-sexualised way that objectified women."

According to the regulatory body, Church & Dwight said that the advert targeted women aged 18 to 34 years who were interested in beauty and fitness. The firm further claimed that a dance sequence shown in the ad was choreographed by a woman and included moves performed during exercises such as dance warm-ups, yoga, and pilates.

While ITV and Channel 4 agreed that the ad did not objectify women, ASA ruled that it must not appear again in its current form.

ASA further said: “We told Church & Dwight not to use advertising that objectified women and that was likely to cause serious or widespread offence to promote their products.”