Popular couple Hamish Blake and Zoe Foster Blake have found themselves at the centre of a sex complaints storm, after their fun TV ad for underwear giant Bonds elicited a number of angry responses from viewers. The campaign, which features the couple romping together in a number light-hearted scenes, hasn’t been seen as funny by some.
A variety of complaints filed with the Advertising Standards Board have called the advert – which in one scene features Zoe playfully pulling down Hamish’s pants – ‘sexist’ and ‘demeaning to men’.
‘The ad clearly objectifies men and shows how they are sexual objects to the viewers; is this message what we want children and other viewers to think?’ one person wrote. Another complained: ‘I feel this is derogatory towards men, also promotes putting down another person.
‘We are constantly being told to respect women, but this ad does not show anyone being respectful. Surely we want to promote mutually respectful behaviour to other people not this sexist attitude.’
However the Board rejected all of the complaints – including one from a childcare worker who claimed it had inspired young children in her care to pull down each other’s pants.
‘During the various activities the couple are seen as sharing power, presented as equals and playful in their interactions together,’ a statement from the Board read.
‘The Board noted the scene where the woman pulls down her partner’s shorts and smacks his bottom. The Board considered this was very playful and in the overall context of a friendly spar, was not of concern, and there was nothing in the man’s response to cause concern.’
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