Fashion Blogs

Beyonce – Heat

When the “single ladies” singer brought out her first fragrance back in 2010 the Advertisement Standards Authority in the UK banned the perfumes advent. The campaign was cincidered to be “too raunchy” to be aired before 7:30pm. The video features the musician singing along to the beat of ‘Fever’ and dancing against a wall in a satin red dress. It set the temperature soaring, even in the feedback headquarters of the perfume company that forced a subsequent ban.

ASA released a statement, “Beyoncé’s body movements and the camera’s prolonged focus on shots of her dress slipping away to partially expose her breasts created a sexually provocative ad that was unsuitable to be seen by young children”.

Marc Jacobs – Oh Lola

He might be known for his stunning designer clothes ranges but when Marc Jacobs brought out his fragrance “Oh Lola” he used the sweet and innocent face of Dakota Fanning for his campaign. It wasn’t the video which got this advert banned, it was simply the print campaign, which featured the baby faced Dakota holding an oversized “Oh Lola” perfume bottle on her lap.. The UK’s Advertising Standard Authority banned this print over claims for portraying children in a sexual manner and that the perfume bottle was not on her lap, but “between her legs.”

ASA went with the latter and backed up the ban with the following statement, “We understood the model was 17 years old but we considered she looked under the age of 16. We considered that the length of her dress, her leg, and position of the perfume bottle drew attention to her sexuality. Because of that, along with her appearance, we considered the ad could be seen to sexualise a child”.

Calvin Klein – Secret Obsession

The classic and powerful scent of Secret Obsession by Calvin Klein reflected its sensual and passionate notes in its ad campaign. After Kate Moss used her innocent sensuality to popularise Secret Obsession, Eva Mendes became the new ambassador in 2008 and then received a ban for her new campaign video.

Shot by Steven Meisel, this black and white advertisement shows an all-nude Mendes with several intended nip slips and exposed bottom camera pans. Every American Television networks refused to broadcast the advertisement, even the censored version.

President and Chief Executive Officer of Calvin Klein, Tom Murry, was quoted on WWD saying, “We believe the commercial is exceptional and hits the mark for Secret Obsession. We will reach our consumers in the US primarily through the website, the print campaign and at point of sale. We are anticipating a very successful global launch”.

Chanel – Coco Mademoiselle

Keira Knightley’s Chanel Coco Mademoiselle advert has been banned from children's television after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) deemed it too "sexually suggestive" for young viewers.

The advert shows the actress being photographed on a bed whilst the photographer is seen to be unzipping her boots. The complainant, who saw the "overtly sexual" ad during the film Ice Age 2, challenged whether it was suitable to be broadcast during a film aimed towards children.

Chanel defended the advert, saying: "The photographer helped the actress remove her boots, rather than her clothes, as part of a wardrobe change during the photo shoot," describing Knightley as "playful and sensual" rather than "overtly sexual."

"We considered the ad was suitable for older children, but that the sexually suggestive material was unsuitable for young children. We therefore concluded that the ad was inappropriately scheduled and an ex-kids restriction should have been applied to prevent the ad from being broadcast in or around children's programming," the ASA ruling concluded.