Banned, ad for Kate’s favourite brand that ‘objectifies women’
‘Sexually suggestive’
HIgH street fashion chain Jigsaw – a favourite of the Duchess of Cambridge – has been censured for objectifying women.
An advertising email it sent to customers featured an image of a woman climbing over a fence wearing a jumper, boots and underwear that barely covered her bottom.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned it – despite receiving only two complaints – ruling the partial nudity was voyeuristic, sexually suggestive and treated the model as a sex object.
The campaign was designed to promote boots sold by Jigsaw as part of its Autumn/Winter 2021 collection. The fashion chain argued it was a ‘celebration of reconnecting with nature, enjoying time with friends and the freedom of self-expression’.
It was a departure for Jigsaw, which has always been considered a relatively conservative favourite of Middle England. Kate is a friend of the chain’s founders and worked for the company briefly as an assistant buyer before marrying Prince William.
She has worn a number of Jigsaw outfits during her royal duties. The controversial email, sent out in September under the headline ‘These boots were made for walking’, triggered two complaints to the ASA.
Robinson Webster (Holdings) Ltd, which owns Jigsaw, argued the campaign was created by a team of women to appeal to women. It said it was ‘part of an artistic series’ inspired by a group of friends who go into the forest for a celebration of the magic of nature.
‘The project explored the relationship with our bodies inside and out, through the art of dressing and undressing,’ it said, adding that the intention was to focus on the boots rather than the model’s body. After being contacted by the ASA, Jigsaw said there was intention to cause offence and withdrew the advert.
In its ruling today, the ASA said the image had a ‘voyeuristic feel’ and a ‘sexually suggestive element’, was irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence.
‘We considered that the lowangle from which the photograph was taken meant that the visual emphasis was on the model’s lower half and made the exposed part of her body the focus of attention, rather than the boots,’ it said. ‘She appeared to be out for a hike or walk in the woods, where people would not ordinarily be undressed in that way.’ The ASA upheld complaints against two other adverts that objectified and sexualised women. One, for excavator seller JMac, featured three women in yellow bikinis and hard hats posing around a man in a digger. The other, for Hull restaurant The Food Hub, showed a woman posing provocatively in lingerie.