This is going to take some serious getting used to for French advertisers.
Paris this week officially banned all “degrading” advertisements on public billboards following outrage over France’s so-called “porn chic” campaigns.
The Paris city council announced this week that it would take new measures to ensure advertisers do not send sexist, homophobic or discriminatory messages on billboards around the city.
Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the initiative meant Paris was “leading the way” in the fight against sexism alongside other cities, such as London and Geneva, that have already undertaken similar initiatives. This summer, London mayor Sadiq Khan banned “body shaming ads” from the underground system.
“The consequences of these degrading representations have an important impact on women, especially young women,” declared deputy mayor Hélène Bidard, adding that she hoped the ban would trickle down in society at-large and help prevent everyday sexism.
The ban will only apply to billboards on the municipal display network managed by French company JC Decaux.
Victoire en #ConseildeParis !!! @JCDecaux_France s'engage à ne plus diffuser de publicités sexistes, discriminatoires, LGBTphobes à @Paris ! pic.twitter.com/JaB84u2jaG
— Hélène Bidard (@Helenebidard) March 28, 2017
Normally known for their witty sense of humor—which often plays out in sexually suggestive puns and wordplay—French advertisers have come increasingly under fire recently for perpetuating “negative stereotypes” about women.
The ban comes just three weeks after a French advertising watchdog rang the alarm bells over Yves Saint Lauren’s latest “porn chic” advertising campaign featuring ultra skinny models in “degrading poses.”
After receiving hundreds of complaints, the fashion house was ordered to remove the posters, one of which showed a reclining woman in a fur coat and fishnet tights, legs wide open, while another one featured a model in a leotard and rollerskate stilettos bending backwards.
Last week, it was an ad promoting Babette double cream that caused an outcry. The poster shows the bottom half of a woman in an apron, whisk in hand, her apron adorned with a punning caption: “Babette: Je la lie, je la fouette et parfois elle passe à la casserole,” which translates literally as “Babette: I thicken it, I whip it and sometimes it goes into the saucepan,” referring to the cream itself.
But, as with any good pun, what normally applies to cream can also take on an explicit sexual connotation: “Babette: I tie her up, I whip her and sometimes she gets laid.”
According to the Guardian, Candia, the dairy group behind Babette, defended itself this week explaining the campaign was actually conceived by an all-women team and was meant to be tongue-in-cheek.
