Boohoo: 'Sexually suggestive' ad has been banned—is the ad really that offensive?

Boohoo's latest ad made the rounds on the internet after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the advert because it 'objectified and sexualized women.'

Is this a case of poor judgment by the British internet fast-fashion retailer founded in 2006, or a very effective outrage marketing strategy?

Ad objectifying women

The advertisement for the online fashion firm featured a model wearing a T-shirt, thong bikini bottoms, and sneakers. A lot of users complained that this marketing strategy was quite racy and undignified.

ASA regulators say:

We also noted that neither the partial nudity nor the bikini bottoms were relevant to the product and that the images did not show the product as it would usually be worn.

After banning the advert, ASA told Boohoo that their future ads should be 'prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society,' so that they don't cause 'serious or widespread offence or harm by objectifying women.'

Even though Boohoo disapproves, it has since removed the ad.

We removed the associated images from our website when we received details of the complaint from the ASA

Was this Boohoo's goal in getting people to talk about their brand?

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Outrage marketing

Outrage marketing is a tactic formerly adopted by video games. It plays on people's emotions to promote a brand, oftentimes by triggering the censors and moral authoritarian bodies.

Now entertainment companies capitalise on this. Such as UK's Protein Bread'scontroversial campaign: 'Are you beach body ready?' They depict particular body ideals that can have major emotional and physical health consequences for the consumer.

This type of advertising isn't a long-term strategy, and it may very well backfire for the brands using it.

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