The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the regulatory organization of the advertising industry in the United Kingdom, has reportedly banned a Calvin Klein featuring Tahliah “FKA Twigs” Barnett. The ad, which features FKA Twigs in a denim shirt drawn halfway around her body, was deemed to be “stereotypical” and “likely to cause serious offense.”
“[The] image’s composition placed viewers’ focus on the model’s body rather than on the clothing being advertised,” the regulator stated.
“We, therefore, concluded the ad was irresponsible and likely to cause serious offense.”
Calvin Klein defended the ad featuring FKA Twigs. The brand argues the recording artist was presented as a “confident and empowered woman” and not like “stereotypical sexual object” as the regulatory organization described.
FKA Twigs’ Calvin Klein Advertisement has been banned in the UK for portraying her as a ‘sexual object’, Variety reports. pic.twitter.com/p4S1KnVSZf
— Pop Base (@PopBase) January 10, 2024
“Doing [this campaign] means I can be who I am—A strong woman. That isn’t going to go in and out of fashion,” FKA Twigs told Kyle Lamar Rice of Rolling Stone.
“When I’m in my 60s and have grandchildren, I can show them these pictures and say, ‘Your grandmother was strong.’”
Alongside FKA Twigs’s ad, Calvin Klein issued two additional posters for its “Calvins or Nothing” campaign featuring Kendall Jenner. Despite complaints, the ASA deemed that Jenner’s ad did not feature her “in a manner that portrayed her as a sexual object.”
“The images were not vulgar and were of two confident and empowered women who had chosen to identify with the Calvin Klein brand, and the ads contained a progressive and enlightened message,” Calvin Klein stated.
Kendall Jenner for Calvin Klein's new Spring 2023 campaign. pic.twitter.com/jUFAb4NE5X
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) March 15, 2023
