Muslim activists target tasteless advertising

The advertising proclivity towards greater and greater nudity in advertising has crashed into Muslim sensitivities.

With public nudity often frowned upon within Islam, advertising hoardings that display nudity within disinctly Muslim areas are being repeated vandalised, with advertising messages being defaced or simply torn down.

East London, Birmingham, Luton, and Bury, are all areas where advertising hoardings showing women in various degrees of naked undress have been defaced.

And now an organisation calling itself “Muslims Against Advertising” has apparently been formed in Birmingham, which offers advice on how to attack such posters with paint, while working in teams.

More than just a direct action protect group, it sends a clear message to advertisers to put more care and thought into the location of their advertising.

For example, in Bury a hoarding beside a local mosque ended up showing women in thongs. The ASA eventually ordered the poster down, after sustained complaints and a petition from the community.

However, the key concern remains that advertisers should have a clear idea of where their adverts will be displayed - and with a multi-cultural audience, advertisers should be acutely aware that the more provocative the ad, the more likely it may alienate potential consumers.