Estate agent's bikini advertisement is banned

An ad in a free local newspaper - featuring an image of six women from behind, wearing bikinis branded with the name of an estate agency - has been condemned as offensive by the Advertising Standards Authority.

The ad, in the Bucks Free Press, showed the bikinis branded with the agency name Whirlybird. Accompanying text stated: "Would you like one of the ladies at Whirlybird Property to value your home If so, call now and take advantage of our preferential rates for selling your property".

Whirlybird Property Ltd told the ASA, which had received a complaint, that the ad was thought to be in line with the various promotions which representatives of the agency had seen at the Moto GP and Formula One grand prix featuring (in the words of the authority) "glamorous ladies promoting a corporate brand."

The agency gave the ASA examples of images which they believed demonstrated that women were commonly used in promotional events and advertising where the image was not directly related to the product and the ad used physical features to draw attention to the product.

Bucks Free Press is reported to have believed that the image was in no way obscene or corruptive to potential readers and said similar sights could be witnessed on a normal beach holiday or on advertising hoardings.

The newspaper claimed the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence to its readers and therefore had no reason to refuse publication.

The ASA, however, had a different view. It considered the use of the image to be incongruous although not sexually explicit.

However, it said the wording was sexist and demeaning to women because it used their physical features to draw attention to the product.

"We therefore concluded that, in this context, the image was likely to cause serious or widespread offence. The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 4.1 (Harm and offence)" said the findings of the authority. The ad has now been banned.