Fashion retailer Boohoo in trouble over ‘Send Nudes’ marketing campaign that reportedly targeted teens
By Alexandra Deabler | Fox News
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A marketing strategy using a double entendre has landed a UK-based fashion retailer in hot water with advertising regulators.
Boohoo reportedly sent out an email advertisement, which targeted teenagers, with a woman wearing a long tan jacket over a white dress. The cheeky slogan over the model reads “Send Nudes.” Underneath, the text reads “set the tone with new season hues,” referring to new nude-colored options the online retailer was offering.
The suggestive campaign has been labeled “disconcerting” and “socially irresponsible” by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) because of the demographic it was targeting, which according to the agency are consumers between 16 to 24 years old, according to SWNS. Boohoo did not immediately confirm to Fox News to whom the email ad was sent.
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The ASA determined the email made light of a “potentially harmful social trend,” noting young people were more likely to be “harmfully affected” by pressure to share sexual images, SWNS reports.
Boohoo defended its advertisement as only describing the color of the clothing.
“The reference to ‘nudes’ in this particular email related to the nude fashion trend, which was apparent from the body of the email which contained a photo of a model wearing a beige jacket with the words 'Send Nudes. Set the tone with new season hues' across the image," a statement from the company to Fox News read.
However, the ASA claimed if consumers only saw the subject headline – which reportedly was also the phrase “send nudes” – without “any further context” it was “likely to be disconcerting for some recipients.”
The fashion site was banned from publishing the ad or other marketing advertisements like it.
Boohoo said in the statement, the company recognizes its "obligations to ensure that advertising is socially responsible."
Similarly, another UK-based brand, Misguided, had an ad pulled this week after it was accused of “objectifying women.”
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In the ad, models were seen wearing skimpy bikinis promoting the brand’s swimwear line.
The on-screen text read, “If you plan on wearing clothes this summer, we’re got you covered, kind of,” along with a winking emojis.
Throughout the commercial, the women are seen posing provocatively, which drew complaints from viewers, claiming the ad “overly sexualized and objectified women.” The complaints, which reportedly happened recently, despite the commercial appearing to have been live since June, prompted the ASA to ban the ad.
“Because the ad objectified women, we concluded that it was irresponsible and likely to cause serious offense,” ASA ruled.
