Sex appeal gets mixed reception

By SIMON HENDERY marketing writer

The bikini was fine, but the cleavage wasn't.

Titillation comes in many forms - only some of them acceptable on TV.

New Advertising Standards Complaints Board decisions have ruled that a TV ad involving a bikini at home was acceptable, but a cleavage at the dental surgery crossed the line.

An ad for motor goods retailer Repco was the subject of one complaint to the board.

It features a man watching television when his partner prances into the room wearing a bikini and a come-hither expression.

"That's fantastic," the man declares, eyes glued to the screen. "Have you seen what they have at Repco, honey?"

Another complaint was about an ad for Cool Charm deodorant. After listening to her boss repeatedly ask an adolescent boy patient to "open wider", a dentist's assistant bends over ostensibly to pick up an instrument. The boy's jaw drops at the sight of her cleavage.

The board's deliberation over both ads centred on two of the principles of the Code for People in Advertising:

* Principle 5: Sexual appeal should not be employed in an exploitative or degrading manner. It should not be used to draw attention to an unrelated product.

* Principle 6: Humour and satire can be used provided they do not cause serious or widespread offence.

In the Repco ad case, the complainant said the semi-naked woman had nothing to do with the promotion of Repco, and the camera focused on her body rather than its products.

The objector to the Cool Charm ad said: "I don't know how you can use a breast to sell underarm deodorant. It's unnecessary and blatant exploitation of a woman's body ... "

Repco told the board that its ad, from agency Clemenger BBDO, was intended to raise brand awareness.

"The ad is funny because we laugh at the man's passion for Repco and the products that are on special, not at the woman."

The board agreed, ruling that the bikini-wearing woman was part of a humorous and satirical scenario.

Cool Charm manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser, whose ad was from agency Euro RSCG Partnership, said the dental surgery ad built on a theme from previous ads - "cheeky and spontaneous behaviour" from the women featured.

"Rather than being degrading to dental assistants, we actually see a clever young woman helping her boss."

But the board disagreed, saying the ad exploited dental nurses and was degrading to them.