U.K. to ban ads depicting gender stereotypes

•Advertisements that encourage gender stereotypes — such as women cleaning up after their families or men ducking the housework — face being banned under new British watchdog rules.

The nation’s Advertising Standards Authority ( ASA) has followed a yearlong inquiry with tougher standards for “potentially harmful” material.

From next year, the rules, which will now be finalized by a committee of advertising practice, will see the banning of inappropriate campaigns.

The ASA found there was evidence to support stronger rules on the basis that harmful stereotypes “can restrict the choices, aspirations and opportunities of children, young people and adults.”

Controversial advertisements by Gap, KFC and Protein World, all of which received complaints last year, could be affected by the crackdown.

The new standards will not ban all stereotypes, such as women cleaning or a men doing DIY jobs.

But those ads that depict such scenarios as a woman having sole responsibility for seeing to her family’s untidy habits or a man trying and failing to do simple parental or household tasks are likely to be outlawed, it said.

Advertisements that depict traditional domestic roles, such as a 1980s Bisto commercial, could also be disallowed.

The sequence shows a traditional family meal time with a mother serving her family a hot dinner while her husband sits at the table reading the paper.

The ASA’s report also said marketing campaigns suggesting a specific activity is inappropriate for boys because it is stereotypically associated with girls and vice versa could also be banned.

A poster f or Protein World, a slimming product aimed at women, caused a stir last year after an ad asked “Are you beach body ready?” and featured an image of a toned and athletic woman wearing a bikini.