The Advertising Standards Bureau has upheld a case against lingerie brand Lovable for asking young girls to take pictures in their underwear, following a complaint claiming it could encourage "child pornography".
The Bendon-owned brand promoted its 'Selfies With Besties' campaign on its Facebook page and asked its female, teenage fans to "take selfies with besties to win weekly Loveable prizes".
The post was accompanied by a picture of two models in their underwear, including the campaign's face and Myer ambassador Jennifer Hawkins.
The brand told consumers under 18 that they needed parental constent to enter the competition, despite it being open to girls over 13. It also stated: "You don't have to be in your undies ... obvs".
One consumer told the ad watchdog: "I feel that the campaign is encouraging young girls to take photos of themselves in their underwear and post it on the internet. It implies this and even if it was unintended it is pretty close to encouraging child pornography."
"I think that this campaign sends a terrible message to their target audience about self-image as well as encouraging young females to use social media irresponsibly and even dangerously as these sorts of 'selfies' could attract sexual predators and paedophiles," the complaintant argued.
The ASB claimed the campaign's use of the word "obvs" showed it was targeted at teenagers, and argued the campaign went against the Australian Communications and Media Authority's (ACMA) Cybersmart program, which encourages safe social media behaviour.
Despite noting the brand's refusal to accept entries of an indecent or offensive nature, the watchdog claimed: "It's possible that younger people would see the current advertisement as condoning the uploading images of themselves in underwear and this is a message that the community views as unacceptable."
The case was therefore upheld on the grounds that the campaign depicted material contrary to the prevailing community standards around health and safety, and was a breach of Section 2.6 of the Code.
Bendon said it had discontinued the advertisment as a result of the ruling.
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