An attempt to ban a poster for the film “Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For” – amid claims it was sexist and degrading to women – has been kicked out by the ad watchdog, which ruled it was no more than “mildly sexual”.
The ad, which ran on the side of buses, featured images of some of the film’s characters, including those played by Bruce Willis, Micky Rourke, Josh Brolin and Eva Green.
The heads and shoulders of the six characters were arranged either side of a full-length image of Jessica Alba – who plays a stripper in the movie – wearing a bra, gloves and suspender-effect tights.
Her mouth was partly open and she was kneeling with her knees spread apart and one arm raised over her head.
But some members of the public were less than impressed, objecting that the ad was unsuitable for public display, where it could be seen by children, and offensive because it was overtly sexual, sexist and degrading to women.
However, the company behind the film, Lions Gate UK, mounted a strong defence of the ad, telling the Advertising Standards Authority that the media owner – in this instance Exterion Media – had approved the image specifically for use on a bus.
It maintained the poster simply replicated the style used in the graphic novels on which the film was based, and that the characters therefore looked more cartoon-like and stylised than realistic people.
Lions Gate considered that this “comic book” execution meant the ad would not cause offence because it was not realistic. Furthermore, it did not believe the image of Jessica Alba was overtly sexual, sexist or degrading to women, and noted that such a look was not out of place in the windows of some fashion retailers.
And, in an all too rare display of unity, the ASA sided with the advertiser. The watchdog stated: “While we appreciated that some consumers might find the focus on Alba’s character and the pose used distasteful, we considered that the image was no more than mildly sexual in nature and not so suggestive as to be generally offensive or inappropriate for untargeted public display.
“We also considered that the image was clearly used in the context of promoting a film and that consumers would appreciate that it showed Alba’s portrayal of a specific character, thereby reflecting an aspect of her role in particular, rather than women in general.”
Ruling the ad “unlikely to provoke serious or widespread offence by being regarded as sexist or degrading towards women”, the regulator said no further action was necessary.
Not that Lions Gate has had it all its own way. In the US, the company was forced to retouch one poster for the film to cover up Eva Green’s right breast, following a ruling by the Motion Picture Association of America.
According to the censor board, the poster was banned “for nudity – curve of under breast and dark nipple/areola circle visible through sheer gown”.
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