Gardening may be attracting the hipsters but it seems some businesses are still stuck in the Carry On era after the ad watchdog slapped down an artificial grass supplier for running an ad featuring a woman in high heels under the strapline “the best way to get laid”.
The ad for Revo Turf, which featured additional text which stated “The Turf Group is the only place to get a good lay”, ran in landscape gardening trade magazine Pro Landscaper. It triggered a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority which challenged whether the references to “getting laid” in combination with the image were offensive.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Turf Group could see nothing wrong with the ad, insisting that the word “laid” was used because it sold artificial grass, which was laid in the same way a carpet or natural grass products.
However, while Eljays44, the publisher of Pro Landscaper, said the term ‘getting laid’ was prominent in both the natural and artificial grass market and was widespread within the landscaping sector, it did acknowledge the term could have caused offence to some of its readers. It admitted it had been contacted by a number of readers, conceding said that in hindsight running the ad had been a mistake.
In its ruling, the ASA said that the text and imagery had the effect of demeaning and objectifying women by presenting them as sexual objects. It said: “We concluded the ad was likely to cause serious offence to some consumers.”
The watchdog also warned Turf Group to ensure that future ads did not portray women in a manner that objectified them and which was likely to cause serious or widespread offence.
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