NATIONAL: A Gasp Denim billboard was the most complained about advertisement in Australia in 2009, the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) has revealed.
Displayed in Victoria only, the ad featured topless models dressed in Gasp jeans.
ASB CEO Fiona Jolly said a community group which distributed a form letter about the ad was instrumental in generating approximately 250 complaints about it's content.
"Many [complaints] were from locations where the ad could not be seen," Ms Jolly said.
Complaints focused on the sexual nature of the Gasp campaign. The ASB dismissed the complaints.
Also making the list of the top 10 ads complained about in 2009 was Target. The retailer's 'Live in Denim' television advertisement, aimed at promoting its range of trend-driven jeans for 18 to 30 year old consumers, showed a man climbing out of a clothes dryer. Viewers who lodged complaints with the ASB alleged the commercial made light of children who had died in clothes dryers.
The ASB board found the ad was in breach of its health and safety code. Target had voluntarily withdrawn the ad from air before the board reached its determination.