Lovable’s Facebook campaign “Selfies with Besties” has been criticised for breaching advertising codes by encouraging young women to post photos of themselves online in their underwear.
Image Credit: Lovable’s Facebook page
The popular lingerie brand began an advertising campaign on August 13 that offered prizes to women who posted pictures of themselves and their best friends in their underwear up on Lovable’s Facebook Page.
The competition included captions like: “Huddle ladies! We have 10 prize packs to give away each week. So, now is not the time to be shy. Get your camera, snap a selfie and dominate this comp.”
But Facebook users started voicing their complaints to the Advertising Standards Bureau and even online direct to Lovable’s Facebook page with one user, FamilySmart posting: “Hi Loveable. Your competition, which encourages young girls to take ‘selfies with their bestie’ is dangerous and irresponsible. Photos plastered all over this page of Jen [Jennifer Hawkins] taking ‘selfies’ in her underwear and encouraging girls not to be shy and to ‘take selfies to the next level’ is encouraging the potential exploitation of young women. Please show some corporate responsibility.”
Once looking into the campaign, the Bureau decided it was possible for young people to see the competition as “condoning or at least giving some legitimacy,” to “uploading images of themselves in underwear” stating that this was a breach of the Advertiser Code of Ethics with regard to community standards.
The advertising agency behind the campaign Whybin\TBWA commented it was “disappointed” with the ruling. It was their first project for Lovable.
Do you think the competition deserved this criticism?
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