BANNED IN THE U.S.A.
Fashion Advertising Pushes The Line
When we think of things in the fashion world that have been banned, we think of certain tone-deaf designs (remember Gucci’s completely tone-deaf balaclava a couple years ago?) or quite possibly the designers themselves (paging Galliano!). However, there have been dozens of fashion ads that have been deemed too racy/graphic/you name it, and therefore banned from the pages of magazines. Some banned ads left us wondering why they were ever banned in the first place, while others left us clutching our pearls.
Take Dolce & Gabbana’s 2007 ad for instance. Here we see a female model being pinned down by one man, while being surrounded by three more. It’s easy to see why this ad was banned by the Advertising Self-Discipline Institute, which claimed that the ad “offended dignity of the woman, in the sense that the feminine figure is shown in a degrading manner.”
Another famous ad to get banned (but one most of us have already seen) was Tom Ford’s men’s fragrance campaign, also from 2007 (apparently 2007 was a hotbed of controversy in fashion advertising?). This ad celebrated the first ever men’s fragrance from the famed designer (he developed men’s fragrances during his time at Gucci, but this was his first under his own name), and what better way to celebrate than to place the bottle directly in between a naked woman’s thighs and breasts? Oddly enough, in the European markets, this ad was banned only in Italy and not in the UK, where its Advertising Standard Authority – or ASA – almost always bans ads of this kind of sexual nature. If we think about many of the ads we see today, this is one that would most definitely make the cut past the censors.
Another Tom Ford ad to get banned came out during his time at Gucci, in 2003. It centered on model Carmen Kass’s pubic hair, which was cut into the shape of a ‘G’, and a kneeling male admirer. Shot by Mario Testino and styled by Carine Roitfeld, the ad was met with swift backlash when it was first released (and banned in the UK), but is actually now praised for its irreverence.
While you’re here, take a look at some other examples of banned fashion advertising that we’ve gathered, and let us know whether you agree or disagree. It’s interesting to see now which ones remain buried in advertising limbo, while some (like the Gucci ad mentioned above) have been able to reach a sort of iconic status due to their troubled beginnings and subsequent staying power. Either way, it’s ads like these that have pushed the envelope (whether for bad or for good) and provide the inspiration for the very ads we see today.
