ASAI upholds protests over Lynx ad

THE makers of Lynx deodorant were yesterday rapped for an advertisement featuring a woman wearing nothing but a jacket and lingerie next to the word “Clicktease”.

Objectors complained the poster advertisement portrayed women as sex objects and also suggested the words pr**ktease and striptease.

The ad was designed to support a television campaign which showed a man using a clicking device to count the number of times he got glances from women.

Yesterday, advertising standards watchdogs upheld complaints against the deodorant’s makers, saying that the poster was coarse and suggested undesirable innuendo.

“The complainants considered the advertisement was offensive and provocative ... and promoted the image of women as sex objects and objectified women’s bodies.

“Others considered the word Clicktease rhymed with pr**ktease or was used to bring a striptease to mind,” said the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI).

The Lynx ad drew five complaints, the second largest number of objections to advertisements ruled upon in the ASAI’s latest bulletin.

The highest number of complaints for any one ad was eight, against the Bagel Factory’s poster featuring Adam and Eve naked next to the words “Give in to temptation”.

But the ASAI rejected the objections against the ad, saying the use of image of Adam and Eve was inoffensive while the advertisers said the ad was a play on an familiar Biblical story.

Estate agents and house-sellers generated large numbers of complaints, chiefly for misdescribing homes and saying that houses were in more desirable locations than they were.

A business called Home Managers was rapped for describing a rental property in the Dublin 12 area as located in Royston, Templeogue, Dublin 6W.

Similarly, the ASAI upheld a complaint against Gunne New Homes for boasting that a new development was in Dublin 9 when the homes were within the Dublin 11 zone.

An ad by FML Properties for a development in Mahon, Cork, wrongly gave the address as Rochestown — which is on the other side of an estuary, the ASAI ruled.

Holiday and travel firms also gave cause for criticism from the ASAI over their boasts over prices.

An Aer Lingus email to customers announcing flights for €5 was in breach of advertising rules for failing to state the full price with taxes and charges.

But Ryanair was cleared over a “250,000 seats from €1” promotion as its ad also stated the fare would be €14.64 with taxes and charges on top.