‘Demeaning’ Hollyoaks nude scanner app ad banned
An advert promoting a nude scanner app broadcast during six episodes of Hollyoaks has been banned from future broadcasts after the Advertising Standards Authority ruled it to be demeaning to women.
The controversial piece incorporated images of a naked woman with her breasts and crotch blurred out whilst being ‘scanned’ by a mobile phone.
A voiceover informed viewers, many of whom were children, that the app was a way to ‘prank friends’ into believing that the device was a form of x-ray scanner.
A total of 26 people complained to the ASA over this material accusing it of being offensive and demeaning toward women as well as encouraging anti-social behaviour.
App publisher Jesta Digital stressed that they had received permission to broadcast from Clearcast with an ex-kids restriction, adding that the ad was not targeted at children but has agreed to remove the ad from broadcast.
In a statement detailing its response the ASA said: “The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Jesta Digital GmbH to ensure their future advertising was not demeaning to women and contained nothing that was likely to cause serious or widespread offence.”