Katie Price's Diesel Advert Banned For 'Sexualising' Women

An ad for the fashion brand Diesel featuring the former glamour model Katie Price has been banned in the UK.

On Wednesday morning, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) revealed it had received 13 complaints about the ad campaign, which saw the reality star posing in a bikini while holding one of the brand’s handbags.

These complaints were made by some who “believed the ad objectified and sexualised women” and was therefore “offensive, harmful and irresponsible”.

Others also questioned whether Katie was depicted as “unhealthily thin” in the campaign.

In its ruling, the ASA said it was upholding complaints about the ad objectifying women, saying that it must no longer be used in its current form.

“The bikini only partially covered Ms Price’s breasts and we considered the positioning of the handbag, in front of her stomach with the handle framing her chest, drew viewers’ attention to, and emphasised, that part of her body,” the ruling said.

“While we acknowledged that Ms Price was shown in a confident and self-assured pose and in control, we considered that because of the positioning of the handbag, which had the effect of emphasising and drawing attention to her breasts, the ad sexualised her in a way that objectified her. We therefore considered the ad was likely to cause serious offence, was irresponsible and breached the Code.”

However, the complaints about Katie appearing “unhealthily thin” were not upheld.

Diesel said that its ad featuring the Celebrity Big Brother winner was part of a wider campaign featuring a variety of different models “designed to challenge stereotypes and support diversity and inclusion in the fashion industry, by reflecting a wide range of body types”.

The ASA said in its ruling that this was not sufficiently obvious when Katie’s ad was viewed in isolation.

HuffPost UK has contacted Katie Price’s management for comment.

Katie, of course, has been no stranger to controversy since her rise to fame in the early 2000s, initially as a glamour model under the moniker “Jordan” and later as herself thanks to numerous reality TV appearances.