Sexist ad.

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/feb/09/vi rgin-atlantic-ad-sexist-ofcom

Many on this site have in the past constantly accused the Daily Mail of printing 'non news' trivial stories.

Well this Guardian story has got to be beat any that the DM can come up with.

The Advertising Standards Authority has received 29 complaints that the �6m ad campaign, which also includes press advertising, is sexist.

Wow! 29 complaints, that's amazing.

[craft1948]

What do you expect - it is the Guardian. That's about their total circulation figure isn't it?

[on.knowledge]

female cabin crew or behind the perfume counter at Boots?
who wears most slap?

any other suggestions?
(just trying to make a thread out of a non story AOG)

[Octavius]

Perhaps the men in the advert are drooling over the male pilot?

[Gromit]

Agreed, a non story.

The cries of sexism are missing the point, as this is a spoof of the eighties airline ads which were often sexist. It is difficult to fathom what message we are supposed to take away about Virgin now.

I thought it was a Lynx advert when I first saw it.

[jake-the-peg]

It's not the number of complaints that's important but whether the code of practice has been breached.

[Quinlad]

It's from MediaGuardian. A weekly Guardian pull-out on news in advertising, press, publishing and broadcasting.

It also has its own website for rolling news on the media industry.

What kind of thing would you expect them to publish?

[daffy654]

There are men being ogled in the advert too so I don't see how it is sexist really.

[fredpuli47]

It's a non-story. Dare say there are always 29 people to complain about anything.It's a patent and amusing take on how things were.

[jake-the-peg]

Advertising standards are not run like Big Brother

"Is it legal honest decent and truthfull yooo decide

Phone [phone] for too sexist"

The number of people who complain is irrelevant.
Would you expect them to release a statement that said

a certain sofa manufacturer advertised a non-existant Sale but we didn't do anything because only one person complained?

But the Guardian was doing a sloppy job anyway

They should have reported that the ASA rejected the complaints.

http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/879485/ASA-d ismisses-complaints-sexist-Virgin-ad/

This was an interesting one:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2004/dec/01/as a.pressandpublishing

The Mail appologised for running it and the Guardian and Telegraph defended it.

[anotheoldgit]

But the Daily Mail said in hindsight the image was unsuitable for publication and would not run it again.

Ah! Good on the Daily Mail, always a defender of decent public standards.

[jake-the-peg]

I thought you'd like that!

Of course the DM has a higher propotion of female readers than any other paper - so I'm not surprised

[Quinlad]

Or (given that they'd already approved the ad before it was published) lacking the courage of their convictions.

;-)

[sp1814]

I've seen the Virgin ad a few times and it did run through my mind that it looked a bit sexist, but not overtly so. I think they are getting away with it by selling it as 'tongue in cheek'.

Still preferable to that new Cadbury's advert (two kids about to have their photo taken then succumbing to 45 seonds of facial tics to some 80s dance track.

It's just disturbing.

Really, really disturbing.

[daffy654]

I've just been and youtubed the cadbury's ad as I hadn't seen it yet............I don't think it is disturbing,a little odd but quite funny really :-}

[LucyThomas5]

Yes sp1814. I suppose you find the Cadbury's add disturbing because neither of the children is black (or gay). Surprising, given that it is a CHOCOLATE advert.

[bundleone]

Men are attracted to women and women are attracted to men, it's normal, can't see anything wrong with that ad at all,

[tamborine]

Virgin hits the sensitivities of some men who find girls hair and legs on view immodest?