I would love to see the advertising people rework the existing ad by adding a stupid fake smile to the female model's face and speech bubbles to the male models, where they ask for permission to play with her hair.

I have actually liked some of the rather racy billboard ads put up by Calvin Klein in the past. Advertising is a fact of modern life.

This particular billboard depicts a potentially violent situation
,as far as I am concerned. They were right to ban it.

Unfortunately, as proved by the predominantly male responders to this thread, many men would find a picture like this sexually attractive.
It is a seriously misguided male fantasy that women would actually like this situation...

Like Pelican, I was uncomfortable with that depiction of 3 writhing aggressive looking men leaning over a lone, half naked woman.

Most women would feel the same way I should think.

So there is at least half of the consumer market who would not like that billboard.

Shadow Minister- I looked up a website about Melinda Tankard Reist,
and she sooo doesn't look like anyone I ever saw with a blue rinse!

Get your facts right before you mouth off online.
Check it out for yourself:
http://melindatankardreist.com/about/

No need to call the thought police and blame it on those awful men, women can distinguish between fantasy and reality,

http://www.healthyplace.com/sex/psychology-of-sex/womens-top-ten-sexual-fantasies/menu-id-1482/

http://www.healthyplace.com/sex/psychology-of-sex/are-sexual-fantasies-good-for-us/menu-id-1482/

If women's clothes buying isn't about fantasy what is?

Next the model needs sexy, stylish and seductive shoes, two pairs minimum unless there is a sale.

Suzeonline,

I am perfectly familiar with MTR, and while she is not ancient (though her photo is far from current) most of her followers are.

She is the Sarah Palin of the feminist movement, and as a strict adherent of the Catholic Church opposes women's control over reproductive rights and any pretty much any form of sexual expression.

It is strange that Australia was the only western country to ban the ad, and that virtually no one else saw the "potential violence". If this wasn't so sad it would be funny.

Dear commenters,

This ad was not banned. That is not the way the ASB works. What is more, my opinion piece specifically notes that it was not banned, and this leads me to wonder if people are commenting on my argument or on some other argument that I have not made.

Also, my opinion piece does not deal with the question of whether this or any other ad should be banned. In fact, I oppose "prior censorship" by the state in the form popularly known as "banning". The ASB is not part of the "state" in any strict sense anyway.

Lastly, I wonder if commenters might perhaps refrain from personal ridicule that is unconnected to my argument. People who know me, like some commenters, know that I have a fairly thick skin and am comfortable with robust debate. And I actually think there is too much rhetorical "inflation" in Australian debate, with words like "hate" or "bullying" often taken out of their appropriate context and used instead to characterise what is simply disagreement. But come on, what has a 1950s hair dye got to do with an argument about how advertising works?

thank you for the comments, and the disagreements!

Helen

Helen, you wrote:

<< In a rare move, the Australian Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) recently upheld a complaint against an advertiser. >>

So, how can the ASB uphold a complaint without then banning the ad?

What does upholding the complaint actually mean??

In my first post I wrote:

< So, this billboard passed the advertising standards to start with (?) and was then condemned by the ASB following a complaint.

Well that doesn’t make any sense! >

Do ads have to pass standards up front or is it self-regulated, or only regulated inasmuch as there is the potential for the ASB to ban an ad or criticise the company if it is deemed to have gone too far?

It begs the question: how on Earth does the ASB actually work??

Could you enlighten us a little. Thanks.