[NSFPCP] Is this billboard offensive? Should the powers of the British government have forced it down?

I don’t think it’s so over the line that it should be forced down. She is dressed fairly modestly, so it’s not indecent in that way, and the double entendre is not very offensive in my opinion.

The article doesn’t say that the ad was removed from the billboard. It only states that the city refused to allow it to run on city buses. That’s fair.

I’m sort of surprised because England has usually had much more permissive and sassy advertising and television than the puritanical USA. But the article does say that the government passed some new rulings about gender non-discrimination so things may be changing.

Also, as @Darth_Algar says, the government didn’t ban it. The article says that Adverta (whoever that is) refused to put it on city busses.

Personally, I find it an amusing double entendre but I can see why there might be some objections.

I think the city can censor what goes on the buses, I’m not sure this crosses the line though. I guess they want to avoid any hint of objectifying women?

From the linked article “A new rule came into force last month prohibiting harmful gender stereotypes in adverts, following a review of gender stereotyping by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).”

I guess this does sort of stereotype, but I think a lot of ads use stereotyping and “sex” so that’s going to be a lot of ads. Are they expecting a complete absence of referring to people being attractive or sexy?

^^ longgone is longgone!

I thought NSFPCP stood for Not Stimulating For Penis Carrying People

And no, this billboard would not have been banned in the US. There have been dozens of air conditioning billboards in the US with similar theme and wording.

But the need for air conditioning in England is just more evidence of global climate change.

Incidentally, Great Britain has a long history of censorship and restrictions on speech.

It wasn’t removed for being crude or indecent, but because it propagates gender stereotypes. The messages we are exposed to through advertising are very simplistic, whereas society is becoming more accepting and creative. Therefore, those messages no longer represent the values many of us want to be shared.

It is difficult for children to understand who they are when they are bombarded with trite expectations every day. Over time, they accept the roles they have been assigned. At that point, another generation is infiltrated by stereotypes and artificial constraints.

In this case, the message is “Girls, you are expected to be attractive for your husband”. That is wrong on many levels. Personally, I’m glad the UK is more aware of this problem than other countries.

It might be important to add that we, having grown up on sexist messages, are likely desensitized. That’s a problem whenever a group of people tries to judge their shared values. Not too long ago, ads like these were perfectly acceptable. It’s only now that we are not regularly exposed to them anymore that they feel offensive.

The ad could be speaking to women too. No reason it can’t be a lesbian couple. Although, men generally are more focused on hotness.

@zenvelo LOL love how you sneak in the climate change comment.

Not offensive to me. Probably to conservative folks.

Not offensive to me, in the bible belt. It’s not a wet t-shirt or anything.

Well. What if it had read “Your husband is hot. Better get the air conditioning fixed.” Would it have been viewed differently? It doesn’t bother me, but if turning it around makes all the difference, then we need to keep turning it around.

And why would a wet T-shirt be “offensive” @KNOWITALL?

It’s a little tacky, but not offensive. I think people need to calm the F down. :)

@Dutchess_III I don’t believe in exposing children to sexual images they can’t avoid seeing. Nips would push it to that point for me.

There’s a sign just like that for a local AC company.

I thought it was juvenile and tasteless but certainly doesn’t need to be illegal.

There are also billboards for sex shops, also not illegal.

I guess “sexual image” is in the eye of the beholder @KNOWITALL. I nursed for 2 years per kid (4 years straight.) I’ll never forget the time when 14 month old Chris saw the cover of Cosmo, and the lady was all boobs, and he went “Numma numma!” That’s when I realized boobs weren’t evolved for sexual reasons. Actually, they shouldn’t have evolved at all. No other mammal has them, outside of lactation. The things we associate with them is really stupid. But if you want to perpetuate the idiocy of “sex” with the bags of fat that evolved to feed babies, have at it.

@Dutchess_III It’s not always about YOUR feelings, sometimes it’s about respecting others and how they choose to live their lives or raise their children.

Try to walk around bare-chested sometime, I think you’ll ‘get it’.

I don’t have to walk around bare chested to “get it,” ding a ling! Geez. Walking around with them under my clothes gets enough attention.
I’m just saying the idea of boobs as something sinful is a man made construct.

@Dutchess_III Yes, back to Eve eating the apple, so it’s all her fault anyway….haha

The temperature in the UK is forecast to reach 100F tomorrow and might possibly break the all-time record. I’m surprised they feel a need to advertise air conditioning.

@flutherother Hey, what’s everyone there saying about Iran and your ship?

It’s been overshadowed by the ongoing Brexit crisis and the election of Boris as Prime Minister.

@flutherother They hate Boris? Over here they keep showing pics side by side with Trump, talking about their weird hair twins.

@KNOWITALL Some love him, most are appalled at him getting anywhere near Downing Street. He resembles a kind of mini Trump. They have similar hair but at least Trump combs his.

@flutherother Because he was born here or whats the objection?

Nothing to do with that. They think he’s a blundering fool who might do a lot of harm to the country.