With their no-holds-barred views and penchant for lively panel discussions, the stars of ITV’s hit daytime talk show Loose Women are no strangers to controversy.
But while the likes of Janet Street-Porter, Katie Price and Linda Robson don’t shy away from sparking heated debates – they played no part in the latest Loose Women related furor.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned an advert using an iconic image of the show’s panelists after it was branded sexist and likely to cause widespread offence by one outraged complainant.
The promoted Tweet from gambling website Fruity King Casino featured the words ‘You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. #LooseWomen18′.
The tagline was featured under an image of the Loose Women stars debuted earlier this year and originally created to launch the show’s nationwide body confidence campaign.
Speaking at the time panelist Andrea McLean revealed her hopes for the impact of the stunning black and white shot:
“I hope people see the pictures for what they are; real women, not edited or airbrushed, letting their body tell their story.”
Delivering their ban the ASA argued that the ad “ridiculed” the presenters as they tried to create a “positive” portrayal of women’s bodies.
In its ruling, the continued: “We considered that image shown in the tweet would be understood by viewers as intending to portray a positive image of women’s bodies.
“However, we noted that the text, “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig”, was shown above the image.
‘We considered that this was specifically targeted at the women shown in the image and, consequentially, ridiculed what it represented.
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“Because of that, we considered that the image along with the text “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig” was derogatory towards women and therefore concluded it was likely to cause widespread offence.”
Responding bosses at ProgressPlay Ltd – which markets Fruity King Casino – apologised for any offence and said the ad will no longer be used.
