Renault ad banned for being 'sexually provocative'
The ad features a variety of people driving the Clio and pressing a button labeled "va va voom." Instantly a backdrop of Paris, a flower stall, romantic restaurant, baguette seller and a couple on a date appear.
Lingerie-clad women spring up out of nowhere to dance suggestively around the car for two male drivers in what Renault claims is a parody of Moulin Rouge; a group of shirtless men dance and flex around a female driver.
The scenes involving the female burlesque dancers caused one viewer to complain to the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that the ad objectifies women. The subsequent ASA statement on the ruling reads:
We were concerned that the ad featured a number of shots of the women's breasts and bottoms, in which their heads were obscured, and which we considered invited viewers to view the women as sexual objects.
We further considered that the choreography, dress and facial expressions of the dancers were sexually provocative.
The ASA has asked Renault to remove the offending scenes, but the shots featuring the male dancers can remain as they are - a ruling that has upset a number of internet pundits.