Cleaning Advert Cleared of Claims it Was Being Sexist
May 21, 2009
Posted by Katie in : Cleaning News, News , trackback
The Oven Pride advert that claimed cleaning was “so easy, even a man can do it” was not sexist, the advertising watchdog has said.
The oven cleaning ad was the cause of 673 complaints, saying the advert was offensive because it suggested men were stupid and lazy.
But the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the majority of viewers would see the advert as light-hearted.
The advert included a voice-over suggesting the process was “so easy, even a man can do it”.
As well as complaints that the advert was sexist towards men, some viewers also thought it was demeaning to women.
Viewers complained that the advert suggested cleaning was generally a woman’s job. But manufacturer HomePride said the advert was not intended to cause offence but was trying to raise awareness of the product by using “tongue-in-cheek humour”.
The ASA agreed with the company and failed to uphold the complaints, they said:
“We noted that the ad used mild humour to refer to traditional gender stereotypes but considered that the overall impression was such that it did not portray either gender in a way that stigmatised, humiliated or undermined them by using harmful stereotypes.”
“We noted some might consider the humour in the ad in poor taste but concluded that it was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.”
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