Complaints said 'husband for sale' ad trivialised slavery

on 11/09/2012 00:00:00

The donedeal.ie advertisement was one of 25 which prompted complaints that had to be considered by the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland.

In the advert a woman states that she is using the website to sell her husband, under the description: "Husband for sale 14 years experience as a loyal, fairly clean husband, enjoys long walks on the golf course, extras none, em, quick sale needed as fancy a good holiday, would part exchange for garden furniture or an American-style fridge."

While the advertisement states at the end that "you cannot sell or buy husbands on DoneDeal", it sparked a number of complaints.

According to the authority, some considered it to be offensive on the grounds of sexism and gender inequality and that the depiction of the male in the advertisement was demeaning, crude, derisory, discriminatory, and unacceptable. Other complainants said it "trivialised human trafficking, slavery and prostitution", while others referred to national male suicide figures and claimed the portrayal of men as pet-like, useless or inferior was unhelpful.

Those behind the advertisement said it was intended as a piece of comedy but apologised sincerely if the ad caused offence.

Of the 25 advertisements that were the subject of complaints in its recent bulletin, the advertising standards authority found 18 to be in breach of its code&.

Among them was an advert for Club Orange promoting the drink's "best bits". The complaint centred on an outdoor poster that featured two large oranges with the orange stem facing out toward the viewer on a black drop-back with the headline "the best bits in the world".

Complainants claimed the advert was sexist, degrading, demeaning, demoralising, and offensive to women as they considered the oranges to represent women's breasts and play on words "best bits" to be distasteful, crude, and sleazy.

The standards authority ruled the advert was using "sexual innuendo merely to attraction attention as there was no tangible link between a pair of women's breasts and the brand Club Orange". Company C&C had claimed the ad was little more than "light-hearted suggestion".

Among the complaints not upheld was one made against Lynx for its "premature perspiration" adverts which show men sweating in the presence of women.

Complainants had said the advert showed sweating as something other than a natural bodily function but the deodorant firm said the advertisements had been "tongue in cheek".