There’s something sort of delicious about seeing banned fashion advertising—it plays to your mischievous side and makes you feel just a little bit naughty. Sometimes an ad is banned for the silliest of reasons, like using too much photoshop, otherwise known as “misleading” the consumer. Other times it can be completely called for—let’s not forget that the fashion industry has a history of shooting campaigns depicting oversexualized women, underage models and violence against women to sell products. So we can understand why some of these controversial ads need to be pulled, but not all.
Of course, who bans which ads can vary from country to country. In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority holds most of the power when it comes to censoring or banning advertisements and just one complaint from a citizen can land a brand in the doghouse. In the US, markets hold the majority of the power which is why it can take longer for an ad to be banned, even if it’s causing outrage. "In the U.S., it's businesses that make complaints about competitors and it takes a longer period of time," Advertising Age deputy managing editor Natalie Zmuda told CBS. But across the board there seems to be a limit to how much fashion brands can get away with. Ahead are a few of the most controversial banned ads that just couldn’t escape the ax.
American Apparel: Socks
These look less like fashion campaigns and more like the stills from an amateur porn session. Of course, that seems to be the case for almost all American Apparel campaigns—and, let’s be honest, this is probably part of the reason why former CEO Dov Charney was fired. While American Apparel is not a luxury brand, these images needed to be included because they're just so shocking. They are creepy and uncomfortable, and even after going through tons of banned ads to compile this list, these are the ones that make our skin crawl. Three out of the four photos in this ad don’t even show the product. All we have to say about this is good riddance.
Marc Jacobs: Oh, Lola!
Some of these can be suggestive, but only if you look at it in a certain light. As women who love anything and everything Marc Jacobs all we see here is an adorable Dakota Fanning in an amazing lace dress and a super-sized bottle of Oh, Lola. First thoughts? Where can we get that dress and pick up a gallon of this perfume? The UK’s Advertising Standard Authority, however, saw an underage girl in a dress that was too short and a suggestive bottle of perfume. She was 17 at the time, but they stated she looked 16 and “considered the ad could be seen to sexualize a child.” Yikes.
Saint Laurent: Spring/Summer 2015
The latest ad to get a major ban was Saint Laurent for using an underweight model. But Hedi Slimane is known for using skinny and gaunt looking girls—it’s kind of his thing. Maybe it doesn’t really phase high-fashion fans (we see a lot of slender models), but someone was appalled and reported it. Immediately the ASA banned it saying that the campaign depicted a model that was “unhealthily underweight” and that her ribcage was “visible and appeared prominent.” Even her legs didn't escape scrutiny. The ASA said "her thighs and knees appeared a similar width...which looked very thin, particularly in light of her positioning and the contrast between the narrowness of her legs and her platform shoes." To be fair it seems more like the arch of her back, the shadow around her legs and the angle of the camera is what lead to her looking ultra-thin.
Dolce & Gabbana: Spring/Summer 2007
Seriously Dolce & Gabbana, do you have some strange fascination with orgies that we should know about? This campaign was original released in 2007 (appropriately dubbed the “gang rape” campaign) and went away quietly, but after resurfacing earlier this year amidst the IVF scandal, people flipped out. Some celebs even took to Twitter to publicly renounce and boycott the label. It was first banned by Italy’s Advertising Self Discipline Institute because of “the passive and helpless position of the woman relative to the men around her, and the representation of abuse or the idea of violence towards her.” And we have to agree, we’re totally fine with this being banned.
Tom Ford: For Men Fragrance
Oh, Tom Ford. While the designer has a lot, a lot of controversial campaigns, most aren’t banned due to his very strategic ad placement and the way he argues that it’s more artistic than salacious. It’s why many of his campaigns are restricted, but not banned. Except for this one. This is totally banned. Shot by Terry Richardson for the 2007 For Men fragrance campaign, the cologne bottle sits precariously perched between the model’s legs and breasts leaving very little to the imagination. As Ford has explained numerous times: sex sells. Even if it’s totally banned and inappropriate.
Sisley: RTW 2001
Sisley has a rep—much like American Apparel and Tom Ford—for being the bad boys of the fashion world. This campaign is no different. In 2001 Josie Maran was shot by Terry Richardson shooting milk right from a cow’s udder into her mouth. Because—fashion? We can’t even see the clothes, and you can bet this was banned pretty quickly. If you're wondering why the famous Sisley Fashion Junkie photo didn't make the cut, it's because the ad was later revealed to be a fake. “We would like to clearly state that the Sisley brand (and the Benetton company) has nothing to do with these images and therefore we refuse to be linked with them,” the brand claimed in a statement. Oh, well. That’s just one controversial ad they weren’t responsible for.
Yves Saint Laurent: Opium
Tom Ford has built a name for himself on his highly sexualized imagery, so naturally, we've come to expect it of the designer. But in his earlier days when he was first gaining popularity as the creative director for YSL, no one was sure to what to expect. So he told them flat out with this particularly scandalous ad. His Opium campaign with a nude Sophie Dahl was so blatantly sexual it was immediately banned, and was even named the eighth most-complained about ad in the last 50 years by the ASA, with an enormous 948 complaints.
Miu Miu: Fall/Winter 2011
In 2011 a 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld posed for Miu Miu’s campaign white sitting in a brown ensemble on an abandoned railroad track. Her skirt was an appropriate length, she wasn’t in any sexualized pose and to be honest she looked rather bored. But the ASA jumped on the ad immediately stating it was “irresponsible and in breach of the Code in showing a child in a hazardous or dangerous situation.” While the harshest critics claimed the model was crying, upset and attempting to commit suicide (what?), the Prada-owned company explained that is was inspired by moments of the actress taking a break between scenes, adding that “the viewpoint of the ad extended along the railway track and it was clear that there was no train in sight.” We hate to say this is an overreaction, but…
Diesel: RTW 2010
This campaign is right up there with the best of them. In fact this Diesel campaign was awarded the Grand Prix Lion at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in 2010, but was banned shortly thereafter. The ASA (those guys like to have zero fun) suggested that the campaign—which features women flashing security cameras or taking pictures of their genitalia—would encourage antisocial behavior and were “unsuitable to be seen by children.” Of course Diesel responded that the “Be Stupid” campaign was intended to show “a very strong and unexpected image of femininity.” Unfortunately, it wasn’t seen that way.
