Online sex toy store Get Hard has been whacked by the ad watchdog over an outdoor poster campaign – featuring a man wearing a gimp mask – which appeared where young children could easily have seen it.
The ad, which ran in January and February 2022, also had large text superimposed in front of the man’s face said “Get Hard” and “Anyone can get into it!”,alongside its website address and peach and aubergine emojis.
The Advertising Standards Authority received two complaints which challenged whether the ad was offensive because they believed it was overly sexualised; and inappropriate for display in an untargeted medium where children could see it.
In response to the ASA investigation, Get Hard said it used the tagline “Get Hard. Anyone can. Get into it!” to encourage an attitude of passion, grit, empathy, affection and self-care, that could be reached by anyone.
The ad featured a person in a mask with their mouth open. It referred to an ad it had seen previously, which it considered was more sexualised because it featured a woman at the point of orgasm, thought to be for Lovehoney.co.uk.
The firm also acknowledged that children could have seen the ad, but believed a child would see a man in a mask and some emojis that they may recognise.
Get Hard said it wanted to encourage people to be open with themselves and have fun with the topic of sex, rather than the over serious and frigid attitude it believed was held by many people.
Media site owner Billboard Media did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.
In its ruling, the watchdog considered that the image of the person wearing a gimp mask, which also emphasised their open mouth, was overtly sexual. It also considered that the text “Get Hard ” was likely to be understood as slang for an erection, and therefore sexually suggestive.
Meanwhile, it said the peach and aubergine emojis were commonly used as references to a bottom and a penis, respectively, and often had sexual connotations. Taking the image of the person in the gimp mask together with the references to ‘getting hard’ and the use of peach and aubergine emojis, it ruled that the ad was overtly sexual.
The ASA concluded that the ad was unsuitable for outdoor display in an untargeted medium where it had the potential to be seen by a large number of people, including children, and was likely to cause serious and widespread offence.
Banning the ad, the watchdog warned Get Hard to ensure that all advertising was suitably targeted and to exercise caution when preparing ads for display in outdoor space.
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