A Ryanair ad depicting a schoolgirl dressed in a skirt and showing her midriff with the words "hottest back to school fares" is drawing ire in the United Kingdom, the Register reported.
The Advertising Standards Authority says it has received 13 complaints claiming it is “offensive to show what appeared to be a schoolgirl posing and dressing provocatively and that the ad implied there were sexual connotations to the image."
Ryanair defended the ad, saying "it was obvious that the image was of a woman fully clothed and that the short skirt and bare midriff were representative of the type of clothing that was fashionable among young women in the UK."
But the ASA ruled that the ad violated decency codes, saying, "The ASA considered the model's clothing, which included long white socks and a tie, together with the setting of the ad in a classroom strongly suggested she was a schoolgirl. We considered that her appearance and pose, in conjunction with the heading 'HOTTEST,' appeared to link teenage girls with sexually provocative behavior and was irresponsible and likely to cause serious or widespread offence."
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox