Jack Wills Spring Ads Banned for Being a "Risk to Younger Teenagers"

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Guess how many complaints it takes to shut down an advertising campaign in the UK? About 19. That's how many people aired their grievances to the British Advertising Standards Authority after seeing Jack Wills' spring ads, which feature college-age student cavorting in their underwear (see a sample in the spring campaign video, above). The Guardian reports:

The ads featured a variety of pictures of young people cavorting including a girl wearing a short skirt with her knickers visible, a group on a beach in which a boy was embracing a woman wearing a bra, and a topless couple kissing. The Advertising Standards Authority received 19 complaints that the ads were unsuitable for a catalogue targeted at young teenagers.

Jack Wills maintained that the brand targeted 18- to 22-year-olds and none of the models used were under that age. The company said it drew inspiration from the "hedonistic university lifestyle" and that the marketing strategy was designed to project a positive, fun and sometimes flirtatious" image which it believed was "an accurate reflection of student life".

Did Jack Wills tone things down for the Easter handbook? See for yourself:

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· Jack Wills' 'provocative' ads banned [Guardian]
· British advertising authorities take on Jack Wills [WWD]