Press-and-play bra ad is 'most sexist yet'
By James Morrison, THE INDEPENDENT

Pretty Polly, the lingerie label that makes a virtue of targeting women rather than men, will tomorrow unveil what leading feminists describe as the most "sexist" advert yet.

Situated in bus shelters, the larger-than-lifesize photograph of a model in slinky red underwear, will feature a button placed precipitously close to her breasts inviting passers-by to press it. When they do, the model begins to talk, explaining the benefits of her "Baroque" bra and where it can be bought.

News of the ad comes after a week in which Patricia Hewitt, the Trade and Industry Secretary, condemned organisers of the British International Motor Show for using scantily clad women to promote it. She dismissed a publicity poster as "pathetic", "old-fashioned" and "a 1950s cliché".

The Pretty Polly poster, part of the brand's £1m pre-Christmas sales push, is being hailed by its creators, London-based agency Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy (MCBD), as a breakthrough in "interactive" advertising. Industry observers say it signals a future world ­ like that forecast in the Steven Spielberg film Minority Report ­ where adverts will be able to "identify" passers-by and address them by name.

But feminists remain unconvinced. Beatrix Campbell, currently visiting professor in women's studies at Newcastle University, said it was merely the latest product of the "Loaded culture" promoted by "unreconstructed, oafish, Chris Evans-type blokes".

"The Pretty Polly ad is about something women wear, but it is produced for men's pleasure. It says: 'Here you are, you can press the button and do what you like with her.' As soon as advertisers are given the opportunity to go back to the bad old days, they do." Dismissing what she called the "fake irony" of "lads' magazines", she said: "Everybody knows all it's about is these gross, farting, boozing men behaving badly."

As for the view from the Loaded lads themselves, Keith Kendrick, the magazine's outgoing editor, said: "Why is it OK for women to have a pop at men, but men can't do the same? Women know men have a sense of humour, and we assume they do too." Read more