Complaints about adverts rise

Complaints about this advert were not upheld

The Advertising Standards Authority says its dealing with more and more complaints about the sexist nature of some advertisements, and complaints of this kind have more trebled since the mid 1990s.

Ads, in particular, billboards and posters are becoming more sexist than ever, according to many complainants.

But are the ads really sexist, or are they just cheeky, Benny Hill humour, in tune with our times?

We spoke to advertising executive Barry Delaney. To see that interview click on the link at the top of the page

He feels that sex in adverts lags behind the amount and type of sex seen on television, in films and magazines.

There is no interest, as far as advertisers is concerned, to do anything that upsets people...what you want them to do is love you and buy your product Barry Delaney, Advertising Executive

And that's because the advertisers do not want to offend their audience.

By the end of June this year 668 complaints about 135 adverts had been received by the Advertising Standards Authority.

186 of those complaints was over the current easyJet poster featuring a pair of breasts under the strap line "Discover weapons of mass distraction"

The complaints about the easyJet poster were not upheld.

The National Railway Museum in York has also been criticised.

It uses a poster of a woman's rear with her G-string visible over the top of her jeans in an effort to recruit more young people as volunteers.

And the Royal Academy has also recently flirted with a Benny Hill type approach to self-promotion. An invitation sent to journalists to publicise this year's Summer Exhibition takes the form of a saucy postcard-style photo montage.

We've had lots of emails about this subject - to see a selection of your views, click on the link below.

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