‘Sexist’ Cillit Bang advert banned for showing only women doing the cleaning
A ‘sexist’ advert for cleaning product Cillit Bang has been banned in Spain after viewers complained that of 32 happy customers depicted not a single one was a man.
The gender imbalance saw dozens of women filmed spraying and scrubbing whilst smiling for the camera and concluded with the message, ‘Try it and you’ll be convinced.’
When confronted by the absence of men in the advert manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser said that it was merely reflecting the gender of its customer base, claiming that women were the biggest market for its range of cleaning products.
A spokesman said: “a Reckitt Benckiser spokesman said: ‘The advert showed no harassment of women and indeed was designed to address the female audience who represent the majority buyers of the product.”
The Spanish advertising standards watchdog took a divergent view however, pointing out that the advert ‘presents women as solely responsible for undertaking housework.’
In a statement it said: “It shows women as the only user of the promoted product and is therefore discriminatory for assigning a role according to gender.”