Watchdog overturns ruling that Calvin Klein ad objectifies women

By Imogen Howse via SWNS

An advertising watchdog overturned its own decision banning a Calvin Klein ad featuring a semi naked FKA Twigs for being sexist after she complained.

In January, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the ad after deeming it ‘offensive and irresponsible’ - agreeing with a complaint that said the poster was too sexual and therefore objectified women.

However, officials have now retracted this stance, remarking that while FKA Twigs was ‘sexualized to a certain degree’, she appeared ‘confident and in control’ in the photograph.

A spokesperson said the change had been made "in the context of the strength of public feeling, including views expressed by FKA Twigs."

It comes after the singer voiced her support for the Calvin Klein campaign and lashed out at the ban, branding it "double standards."

The watchdog did however continue to uphold a complaint about the advert being ‘inappropriately displayed’ - such as in an area where it was likely to be seen by children.

The watchdog has left unchanged its original ruling about two other Calvin Klein ads featuring model Kendall Jenner, deciding that these images were not too sexual and had not been displayed in inappropriate places.

Calvin Klein insisted that the ads did not sexualize Kendall Jenner or FKA Twigs.

The controversial poster of FKA Twigs features the singer wearing a denim shirt drawn halfway around her body, leaving half of one breast and the side of her buttocks exposed.

The slogan superimposed onto the advert reads ‘Calvins or nothing.’

The ASA received two complaints about the advert which argued that it was ‘offensive and irresponsible, because it objectified women’, and ‘inappropriate for display in an untargeted medium’.

The same complaints were received about the posters of Kendall Jenner.

In one, the supermodel is side-on and topless with her hands held across her breasts, and in the second, she is lying on her back, pulling a pair of jeans down past her hips.

While the ASA cleared the Kendall Jenner ads, deciding that they were ‘not sexually explicit’, the organisation initially decided to ban the FKA Twigs advert.

It ruled that the photo’s composition focused on the singer’s body rather than the clothing being advertised and said it presented her as a stereotypical sexual object.

"We therefore concluded the ad was irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence,” the watchdog said.

At the time, FKA Twigs spoke out against the ruling, writing in a statement on Instagram that she thought the complaint demonstrated 'double standards'.

She said: "I do not see the ‘stereotypical sexual object’ that they have labelled me. I see a beautiful strong woman of color whose incredible body has overcome more pain than you can imagine.

"In light of reviewing other campaigns past and current of this nature, I can’t help but feel there are some double standards here."

And now, the ASA has made a rare U-turn – no longer deeming the ad objectifying or overly sexual.

It explained: “Although the photo drew viewers’ attention to the model’s body, we considered the image was not sexually explicit, and the ad presented a woman who appeared to be confident and in control."

Explaining why the organization changed its mind, a spokesperson said: "The decision to revisit our original ruling took place in the context of the significant strength of public feeling, including views expressed by FKA Twigs, in response to our findings, but was driven by our concern that our rationale for banning the ad was substantially flawed.

"We wanted to examine whether we had used inconsistent wording and if we had made the right judgement about objectification in the ad."

Continuing their ruling that it was inappropriately displayed, they added: “We considered FKA Twig’s seductive gaze, pouting lips, and the positioning of the shirt revealing the side of one breast and the side of her bottom, and decided, when taken in combination, this meant the image was overtly sexual and was, therefore, not suitable for display in an untargeted medium."

The ASA ruled that the FKA Twigs Calvin Klein ad should not appear in places such as within 100 metres of a school.

A Calvin Klein spokesperson said at the time of the first ruling: "The images were not vulgar and were of two confident and empowered women who had chosen to identify with the Calvin Klein brand."

They added that the style of the imagery in the ads was not overtly risqué but explained that a degree of nudity was to be expected in underwear advertising.

The clothing company also highlighted the fact that men had featured in the campaign too – suggesting it was not focused on sexualising or objectifying women.

FKA Twigs is a British singer-songwriter and Mercury Prize nominee.

She has previously spent time in the limelight whilst dating 1975 frontman Matty Healy and Batman and Twilight star Robert Pattinson.

Kendall Jenner is the daughter of Kris and Caitlyn Jenner and sister of Kim Kardashian.

She shot to fame during her stint on the family's reality TV show Keeping Up With The Kardashians and is now the world's highest paid supermodel.