A pale green sheer bra and matching lace shorts has landed Cotton On Body in an Ad Standards review, with the intimates retailer strongly rejecting notions that the advertisement breached section 2.4 of the AANA Code of Ethics.
The review was tripped by an anonymous complainant who said the Facebook carousel advert clearly showed the model’s areolas through a sheer bra.
Section 2.4 of the code requires advertisers to treat sex, sexuality and nudity with sensitivity.
Cotton On Body responded to the complaint, saying the retailer strives to empower women to live the life they want, and to show up for themselves and each other.
“Cotton On Body’s target audience is a young female who is looking for more affordable and accessible activewear, sleepwear and intimates, without compromising on style,” the retailer shared. “The advertisement promoted our latest season of lace intimates, aiming to showcase the product details for our audience.”
According to Cotton On Body, the model in the ad is posing in a casual and soft way, without being overly sexualised in tone. “The intimates cover key areas of her body while showcasing the lace detail. Cotton On Body purposefully chose a young female model to inspire and promote confidence to our young, female customers,” the retailer added.
“Cotton On Body’s ‘intimate’ product is designed to make our customer feel confident, and this model authentically embodies the confidence our audience can relate to. It is not possible to depict use of the product without some degree of nudity and we strive all times to demonstrate real-life use of our products in a tasteful way.”
Cotton On Body then went through section 2.4 in detail to argue that the ad was within the guidelines.
The complainant also alleged that the ad looked as though it was for an adult company. But Cotton On Body pointed out the ad is clearly to promote and sell its lace lingerie, given the lack of suggestive or overly sexual posing by the model and the plain white background used.
“There is nothing sexualised or exploitative in the imagery,” the retailer noted. “Rather, the product is therefore displayed in a functional and pragmatic way.
“In summary, we are firmly of the view that the advertisement falls well within acceptable community standards and does not breach the code. As such, we request the complaint be dismissed.”
Cotton On Body added that while the matter was in consideration, the retailer placed a retouched photograph to remove the areas which are the subject of the complaint.
An Ad Standards Community Panel reviewed the complaint, and considered that while the ad did contain some level of partial nudity, the woman was not posing in a sexualised way and the product was depicted in a factual manner without sensationalising or focussing on the nudity.
“The panel considered that while it may make some viewers uncomfortable, the advertisement did not contain highly sexualised imagery and was not inappropriate for a broad, predominately adult audience.”
The complaint was quickly dismissed.