Newcastle-upon-Tyne-based JD Recruitment Group, a company which claims to be honest and transparent with a passion for people, has been censured over an ad for an internal role that not only objectified a woman but also featured her in blackface.
The ad in question ran on the firm’s Facebook page and featured details about a branch manager position. The image embedded in the post showed a woman covered in black paint, wearing bold red lipstick and an open leather jacket, licking her lips and covering her breasts with her left hand.
One complainant, who believed the ad featured a woman in blackface, challenged whether the ad was likely to cause serious offence, while the Advertising Standards Authority challenged whether the ad was likely to cause serious offence because the image objectified the woman.
In response, JD Recruitment Group said that it had not intended to cause any offence with the image and had used it to provide a striking visual image along with the subject matter of the post – a job opportunity in the Blackburn area.
It said that, on reflection, it could see how the image might have caused offence, and objectified the woman depicted, and that it would ensure it was more aware of the issues raised in future marketing communications.
In its ruling, the ASA considered that imagery shared strong similarities with “blackface” makeup, which had historic connotations with mocking portrayals of black people. It said it understood that was a negative racial stereotype and was widely considered to be racist in nature.
The watchdog also noted that the post was for a job vacancy, and the image of a partially topless woman bore no relation to the listing being advertised.
It also considered that the pose was suggestive in nature, with the woman depicted licking her lips suggestively and covering her exposed breasts with her hand.
This pose, the ASA ruled, was likely to have the effect of objectifying the woman by using her physical features to draw attention to an unrelated job listing.
Banning the ad on both counts, the ASA warned JD Recruitment Group to ensure its future advertising avoided causing serious offence.
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