Complaints said ‘husband for sale’ ad trivialised slavery

The makers of a TV advertisement in which a woman purportedly puts her husband up for sale on a classified ads website have been warned to heed complaints made about it by the public that it trivialised slavery, even though it was not found to have breached advertising regulations.

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.”