The ban on FKA twigs’ Calvin Klein advert has been lifted – but only partially
The singer spoke out against the ban. (Getty)
The ban on FKA twigs’ Calvin Klein advert has been partially lifted after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the images present her as a “stereotypical sexual object”.
The singer previously called out the “double standards” of the ban, which claimed she was sexualised in the advert.
Released last April, the poster shows the ‘tears in the club’ hitmaker wearing a denim shirt over one shoulder, revealing half her body but covering her breast and half of her bum. The text above the image read “Calvins or nothing”.
In a statement, the agency said it had reversed its original decision on the advert following a review, which determined that the image is not sexually explicit. However, the advert’s ban remains in place for displays which children might see.
The ASA explained that it is aware “significant strength of public feeling, including views expressed by FKA twigs” in response to its original report.
It said that the decision to review the ban was “driven by our concern that our rationale for banning the ad was substantially flawed”, a spokesperson said.
It still said that the “ad was overtly sexual and was, therefore, not suitable for display in an untargeted medium”, like an outdoor poster.
The statement read: “Our decision to ban only the poster featuring FKA Twigs was widely criticised, not least by the singer herself. We’re not deaf to the commentary that surrounds our decision-making.
“We’re genuinely interested in hearing what people think and have to say. And we’re not afraid to challenge our own thinking and change our decisions if we think we’ve got it wrong.”
After receiving just two complaints stating the promotional images were “overly sexualised” and offensive, the ASA ruled in January that the image “placed viewers’ focus on the model’s body rather than on the clothing being advertised”.
In response, the 36-year-old singer-songwriter and dancer took to Instagram at the time to air her grievances.
FKA wrote that she didn’t see the “stereotypical sexual object” the ASA had branded her but instead “a beautiful strong woman of colour whose incredible body has overcome more pain than you can imagine”.
She went on to add that the ban felt like “double standards” due to similar adverts, like the recent Jeremy Allen White installation, having been circulated with no backlash.
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