Readers like you keep news free for everyone.
More than 5,000 readers have already pitched in to keep free access to The Journal.
For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can help keep paywalls away.
- Australia's largest state hits record-high COVID-19 cases despite weeks of strict lockdown. 'It's a tinderbox ready to explode,' one official said.
- eToro says crypto made up 73% of trading commissions in the last quarter, as retail customers dived in
- A flight attendant says she was too exhausted to report a passenger who shoved her when a flight was overbooked: report
- US jobless claims climb for first time in 5 weeks, to 353,000
FITNESS SUPPLEMENT COMPANY Protein World made a lot of people very angry last summer when its billboard advertising campaign, which asked “Are you beach body ready?” was labeled “sexist”and “fat shaming”.
Now it has just launched its first TV advert and the similarities are obvious.
The short video features lots of bikini-wearing female models exercising on a beach, with the slogan “New Year, New You,” to the soundtrack of house music.
Founder and CEO Ajun Seth announced that the TV campaign will launch in the UK, US, France and Germany in 2016.
The ad is already airing on Channel 5 in the UK, according to Marketing Week.
The previous campaign faced a small protest in Hyde Park last summer and more than 71,000 people signed an online petition calling on Protein World to remove its posters.
The advert was eventually banned by the UK advertising watchdog due to concerns over “a range of health and weight loss claims”. However, the watchdog dismissed claims that the advert was “offensive” or “socially irresponsible”.
Ironically, the backlash towards Protein World’s Beach Body Ready campaign, was actually very profitable for the company. CEO Seth told the MailOnline that the uproar actually banked the company an extra €2.7 million in sales.
Making a difference A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.
In June, Protein World brought its billboard campaign to New York, where it was met with similar criticism.
It’s unclear whether the TV ads will generate the same coverage, but it has already been called “more sexist than ever” by the Daily Telegraph’s Claire Cohen.
- Will Heilpern
COMMENTS (66)