Erotic ghd ad banned for causing offence to christians
Published
13th Mar 2008
by sophieh
ghd have been told that their television advertising campaign for the ghd IV hair straightener is offensive to Christians and must not be screened again.
The campaign which combines erotic imagery with the wording 'thy will be done', taken from the Lord's Prayer, received 23 complaints, including one from the Archdeacon of Liverpool.
Three versions of the advert have been screened, which each feature seductively dressed women in bedrooms.
In the first scene a woman wearing lingerie sat on the edge of a bed with rosary-style beads clasped in her hands and prayed in Italian: 'May my new curls make her feel choked with jealousy.'
On-screen text stating 'ghd IV thy Will Be Done,' with the letter 't' stylised as a cross, followed by the text "ghd. A new religion for hair" then appears.
Another showed a woman lying on a bed, with her thoughts 'May my flirty flicks puncture the heart of every man I see' subtitled on the screen.
A third version showed a woman carrying a votive candle through to her bedroom before looking upwards and praying: 'Make him dump her tonight and come home with me.'
The Advertising Standards Authority said that the advert - and particularly its use of a letter 't' to resemble a cross in the word 'thy' - was likely to cause "serious offence" to Christians.
However, ghd group chief executive Martin Penny says that he is shocked by the 'harsh' ruling.
"I am surprised with the ASA decision around the ghd advert," he says. "We have used our strapline for seven years without controversy and whilst we do not wish to cause offence we do believe the ruling is unduly harsh considering the advert has been viewed by a wide range of consumers with a disproportionately small minority feeling aggrieved.
"We do not believe that the advert is overly erotic or that the choice of font used is offensive to the wider Christian community. 35 million consumers viewed the advert with 23 complaints.
"I welcome debate around this and whilst the ad is not currently on TV, because it had run its schedule, it can be viewed on our website www.ghdhair.com"