H&M David Beckham underwear ads not banned by the ASA
H&M’s David Beckham ads, featuring the footballer in a pair of trunk briefs to support his Bodywear range, has not been banned by the ASA, despite complaints that it was ‘offensive’.
Three people complained that the ad was offensive, while two complained that the ad was irresponsible because children could see it.
H&M said the ad for the underwear range was not meant to be offensive, adding that all sites they booked for the campaign were optimised to reach an 18- to 39-year-old adult audience, and were therefore on main arterial routes, to target vehicular traffic.
The ASA noted that there was no explicit nudity in the image, and that ‘the poses and facial expressions of David Beckham were mildly sexual at most’.
The advertising standards body concluded that because the ad was for an underwear range, was not overtly sexual and did not feature explicit nudity, it was not unsuitable for children to see, and t was not socially irresponsible.