Banned, the poster that objectified men

AN ‘offensive’ advert featuring a topless man in tight boxer shorts with the caption ‘Wow! What a package’ has been banned.

Watchdogs investigated after two complaints that the image was ‘irrelevant’ to the estate agent service being advertised and ‘objectified’ the man in the image.

Lewis Oliver Estates, based in Coventry, said the poster and a similar leaflet were ‘light-hearted fun’ and that no offence was meant. The firm described the advert as ‘mild’ and said it had not received any direct complaints.

But the Advertising Standards Authority found the campaign breached rules and banned it from being used again.

A spokesman said regulators ‘considered that the advert was likely to have the effect of objectifying the man’ and concluded it was ‘ likely to cause serious offence to some people’.