JML ad axed for 'harmful' depiction of women cleaning

The ad watchdog has raised more than a few eyebrows after outlawing a TV ad for JML’s Hurricane Spin Scrubber, after its depiction of only women using the cleaning tool has been deemed to perpetuate “harmful” gender stereotypes.

The ad in question, which ran for three-minutes, did feature a male – alongside a female host – but he was only describing the product and demonstrating how it worked.

Four of the women who starred in the ad described their experiences with the tool. The first said: “As soon as I started using the spin scrubber, it’s so powerful it made cleaning so much easier, while a second chipped in: “I love using the extension pole to get the rings out of the bathtub. I love it.”

The third woman stated: “I’ve given this to my mother as a gift, and it has changed the way she cleans. I don’t have to worry about her slipping she just clips it in, cleans the top of the shower and I don’t have to worry anymore,” and the final female stated: “My favourite brush is the cone brush, it’s amazing. It gets all the little crevices, nooks and crannies. It gets all that calcium built up around the sink and around the tub and faucets.”

A male voice-over then concluded: “To get your hands on the Hurricane Spin Scrubber and a sparkling clean home call now, or visit jmldirect.com.”

But one complainant challenged whether the ad breached the Ad Code, claiming it perpetuated harmful gender stereotypes by depicting only women in a role that was stereotypically female, and therefore implied that only women cleaned or were interested in cleaning products. The ASA then opened an investigation.

In response, JML stated that it had updated its advertising following an ASA ruling back in 2021 regarding a TV ad for the same product after that was banned for presenting gender stereotypes in a way that was likely to cause harm.

The firm believed the new ad, which featured a male presenter who was shown demonstrating and using the product, provided more of a gender balance.

The ASA, however, was having none of it. In its ruling, published today, the regulator noted that the only readily identifiable man in the ad was one of the hosts and, while he was shown demonstrating the features of the product, he did so in his role as an employee of the company, rather than commenting on or showing how he personally used the product to clean his home.

The watchdog added: “We considered that the juxtaposition of the male host in an authoritative position explaining and demonstrating how the product could be used alongside several women using and talking about their personal experiences of using the product to clean their home, reinforced the harmful gender stereotype that cleaning the home was the responsibility of women, and that men did not share that responsibility.

“Furthermore, the male host was accompanied by a female host who did not demonstrate or describe the features of the product herself, but instead observed and assisted him. In the context of the ad, we considered that this reinforced the harmful gender stereotype that it was a woman’s role to assist men, which contributed to the wider impression that it was their role to keep the home clean rather than a man’s.”

Banning the ad from appearing again in its current form, the ASA went on to warn JML about future activity.