Pleasure in pain

Pleasure State has dodged a bullet over allegations a recent campaign vilified women.

The intimate apparel brand was hauled before the Advertising Standards Board over the festive season, after complaints over the marketing of its My Fit collection.

Bendon-owned Pleasure State was questioned over a social media campaign on Facebook.

The campaign showed a woman in the driving seat of a car and a police officer writing her a ticket.

The caption read, "Getting out of a parking fine. Cleavagely correct?" and featured three images of bras underneath.

"Anyone trying to justify the ad as acceptable clearly has no understanding of how raunch culture harms women, nor do they have any respect for women," one complainant alleged.

Bendon defended the entire campaign, which ran across print, radio and television, as being based on an Australian and New Zealand survey involving several prominent women.

The Australian survey was conducted in partnership with relationship expert and coach Jacqueline Hellyer and television personality Charlotte Dawson.

"The survey conducted in Australia reports that respondents consider there is a correlation between cleavage and various social and professional occasions," Bendon stated in its defence.

"As such the advertisements do not suggest or promote any particular view; they simply present what are the findings of a survey already conducted, inform and ask people to 'join the debate'."

The Board ruled the advertisement did not violate discrimination or vilification codes, nor requirements around the portrayal of sex or community standards.