An objection to a poster campaign for Lee Jeans on the grounds that it was blatantly sexual, vulgar and obscene, has been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority.
Objectors said the posters were "very offensive, distasteful and wholly disgusting". Some complainants referred specifically to their effect on children.
The authority accepted the advertisements might not be offensive to the target group of young consumers. It found, however, that the use of the posters in streets, shopping centres and railway stations, meant the campaign could not be confined to the target group. The authority also upheld a complaint that Aer Lingus, in offering a £99 return fare from Dublin to Paris or Brussels, was in breach of the code of standards.
The complainant, on attempting to book a midweek flight to Brussels, was informed the offer was subject of a Saturday night stopover. He considered the advertisement to be misleading.