Advertising watchdog JEP has ruled that an ad from a refrigeration firm in which lemons could possibly be confused with the female breast is not misogynistic or woman-unfriendly. The firm's vehicles display an advert showing 2 lemons and the slogan ‘Do you want to be chilly like this?’. Several anonymous complaints were sent to the watchdog. The company’s CEO, who said he wanted to improve the public image of his industry with a view to attracting younger workers, put tape on the lemons to hide their tips after controversy arose. He now intends to remove that tape.
Advertising watchdog JEP has now examined the case, taking into account the arguments of all parties involved. The refrigeration firm's owner Lieven Busschaert received the JEP’s ruling by e-mail.
‘The ruling states that we are not misogynistic or sexist,’ CEO Busschaert told VRT. ‘The watchdog is of the opinion that the poster does not violate contemporary standards of decency and that it does not affect the dignity of women. Nor is the image of such a nature that it compromises road safety.’
Lieven is satisfied with the verdict. ‘The watchdog notes that the advert adopts a creative approach to advertising, with a touch of humour, but without containing vulgar or obscene images,’ he says. ‘I think everyone is happy that there is humour in this world after all.’
Masking tape can go
While awaiting the jury's verdict, Lieven decided to adopt some self-censorship. He stuck black tape over the tips of the lemons!
‘I will now remove the black tape,’ he confirms. ‘The JEP ruling is about the original image, with the dots on the lemons. That image is not woman-unfriendly and will therefore simply remain on our vans.’
Lieven is pleased the campaign has achieved its goal. ‘We wanted to put our company in the limelight, in a pleasant way, in order to find staff. We have succeeded in doing that. We have now already attracted new staff.’