D&G Ads Pulled. - Is it too much IYO?

Crystalina wrote:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17490782/site/newsweek/

As an adult I can handle it but I would not want my kids to see this. I can see their point though. I think they should make the ads more about the clothes and less about the models.

stella6979 replied: I don't find this any worse than the Abercrombie ads, but then again, I don't care for those either.

lovemykiddies replied: I think the right decision was made in pulling the ads. A lot of their ads are degrading to women, and I most definitely have a problem with them. I think they are sick and distasteful. There are many vulnerable children (and adults) out there that do NOT need to be seeing these sort of ads. That's just my opinion. I love Dove's campaign for beauty, and wish more companies would try positive marketing schemes.

lisar replied: I say erotic dream. Mainly cause of all those fine boys standing there. But yes I can see why they pulled it. It is a little sexy for the kids.

lesliesmom replied: I agree that it is no more distasteful than the Abercrombie ads (which I don't like). I also look at it as an exotic dream...but yes, the ads should be pulled.

luvbug00 replied: well i think it's deffinately erotic fantacy, whatever, i am not one for cencership and it's just an ad and i like it. i say it should stay.

DansMom replied:
I totally agree with this.

I don't think the ad is worse than some others I've seen, but I find a lot of ads to be icky and exploitative.

cameragirl21 replied: well, i don't care for the Dove ads at all and i'm totally against censorship BUT as a photog i see the D&G photo as being in bad taste, period. D&G are a clothing company...how much clothing do you see in this ad?!
what the eye is naturally drawn to is all the skin showing, not the clothes, i bet most of you, if you looked at the ad for one minute and then were asked what you thought of the clothes would not even remember any clothes in the ad at all.
i'm all for controversy and pushing the envelope in photography but this to me is over the line. it's tasteless and unappealing.
i certainly wouldn't be inclined to buy their clothes after seeing this ad....
i also should say that for adults, i DO like somewhat erotic and sensual pictures but not something like this, like i said before, to me it's tasteless.

gr33n3y3z replied: I agree with Jennifer

But you have to remember this clothing line isnt in the US and I'm sure the pics were not shot here either bc they dont look at their bodies as we do here in the public eye.

Insanemomof3 replied: Personally I like the ad. My view is if you don't like it, don't look at it. I think that pulling ads is ridiculous because people are too sensitive. Like I said don't look. As for the kids? Well, it is not a children's ad. So I see no problem with it. And they are not naked, so it to a child would just look like they were playing, they would not look at it as sex, they would see it as horsing around.

Calimama replied: I like it, but there are people out there that don't so I wouldn't mind it being pulled.

cameragirl21 replied: i also want to add that i don't mind the skin showing at all, i aim for a similar effect when taking adult pics although this IS a clothing line and i don't see much clothing.
what i do take issue with is the man holding the woman down, pinning her arm down and her refusal to look at him, as if she doesn't want to be there and all the other men standing around and watching...it's tasteless.
JMO of course.

Boys r us replied: I think it's fine!!

The company IS trying to sell clothing..and oddly there is little clothing here..but that's there call to make as far as how they think the best way to catch the public's eye is..

Didn't state farm insurance do a commercial a few years back trying to sell insurance with little kids talking in the commercial and sucking lollipops? What do kids or lollipops have to do with car insurance?
Probably less than a sexy body does for a company that sells clothes to cover hot bods!

My point is that it's there business to decide what triggers the people to remember them!

AS adults we can chose to look or not look. As for our kids..there is nothing about that photo that would be alarming to a child and make them think rape...well, until they hear their parents gawking over it and making an unseenly big deal over it!!
My opinion...people get so up in the air about little of nothing these days! Find a new cause!

cameragirl21 replied: i also want to add that i am against censorship and am NOT saying this ad should be pulled. i just think it's in very bad taste and that whoever came up with it should really rethink his/her ideas on advertising and public opinion. as a photog, i'd not have shot a pic/ad like this for ten million dollars, it's a matter of principle.
i also think that D&G should have expected the uproar they got when they agreed to create a campaign like this.

Kentuckychick replied: I don't really mind it so much. I mean like others have said it's no worse than abercrombie ads. My big problem is when they blow the pictures up to 10x bigger than life and stick them in the windows of the stores in the mall... then, you not only have no choice but to see them, your children also see them

If they were kept IN the stores (so that you had to walk in the doors and be looking for them) and in adult magazines I wouldn't have a problem.

As far as WHY they are pulling the ads... I don't know how anyone can look at that photo and see "rape" or "fantasy rape"...

First of all, that looks nothing like rape and shouldn't be compared to rape. And secondly to even compare rape and fantasy is just sickening.

I do agree though, if the ads are offending people, they should be pulled. And while we're on that... I think those Herbal Essence ads are disgusting...

stella6979 replied:
I do agree about the context of the photo. When I first saw it, the thought of "rape" never even crossed my mind. It looks more sensual to me.

Crystalina replied: I will have to disagree with anyone who says children won't think anything when they see that. Evan who is 3 would not give it a second look but Izabella (6 next month) would definatly want to know why the girl was being held down. Of course I could tell her that they are wrestling and yes, she may stop there with the questions but she's now starting to realize that there is boy/girl kissing and that some boys think girls are pretty. She's starting to notice that women have breasts and some like to show them . Just differant things like that. Maybe I'll get by one more year without her realizing that there is such a thing as heavy petting, kissing that adults do. I think parents should be able to walk around with their children and not be worried about seeing larger then life advertisements like that. Even when my kids are old enough to know all about sex I still would't want them having to see some of the stuff thats out there. I mean really, even the parents of teens...don't you see things in public sometimes that just want to make you question why? Couldn't they have went about it a differant way? Do they really have to show half naked people to sell *whatever*? I don't know. I'm not really for censorship either but I just wish that people would take into consideration that our kids walk around in the daytime and see certain things. I almost feel like I have to disinfect my kids just making a trip to the mall (due to some things they see). And then people wonder why kids grow up so fast nowadays.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: I would have never noticed it or given it a second look, tbh. I know for a fact my kids wouldn't question it.

The fact that it was pointed out as a 'fantasy rape photo' is a little unsettling. I've seen worse in perfume ads quite honestly.

And I like the Abercrombie ads. (the older models, of course)

inmom2two replied: I must be desensitised, because the first thing I noticed were her great shoes Really, I didn't see rape at all. It took me time to notice the guys in the background. One of the best things that they could have done PR-wise, though, was to pull the ad. Now everyone is going to be looking for it!
I have a harder time with the half nekkid models in the A&F stores. The live models, not the print ads.

Cece00 replied: It wasnt as graphic as I thought it was going to be, but I still think its stupid. Sorry, D & G, it didnt make me wanna rub out & buy some of your clothing.

kristy-n-chad replied: I don't see it as very appropriate, but I also don't see "rape" in there.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: I don't think that add would be appropriate for anyone, would probably give my FIL a heart attack!

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: Well we all know sex sells, and truthfully, it's really nothing new or more shocking then other ads out there. I do believe that the D&G boys went a little too far with the whole "fantasy" concept. It's hard to look at an ad where there are five men and only ONE women, especially when the woman is in such a vulnerable position. I wouldn't want my kids to see this, but it is MY responsibility to protect them from seeing it IMO. There is so much out there as far as what I find inappropriate these days, so when it comes down to it, I really think that it's my role as a parent to just not have it around for my kids to see. I think it's fine as long as marketing execs stick to their target market when it comes to where they publish their ads.

moped replied: I think they have acheived just what they set out to do regardless if it was pulled or not - It has caused controversy and therefore people will remember D & C.......Very clever IMO

jcc64 replied: I think the context in which it is viewed determines whether it's appropriate or not. If it's in an adult magazine, I believe that's fair game. It's up to the parent to safeguard the child from inappropriate material. But if it's on a billboard in a public space, that's another issue.
I generally don't believe in censorship- and the ad didn't make me uncomfortable. Rape or assault is not what first came to mind when I viewd the picture. To me, I'm thinking, how lucky is she, surrounded by all those hot dudes. She doesn't look terrified, weak, or vulnerable. She looks bored, tbh.
It's a major coup for the ad execs who created it- don't think for a second the brouhaha surrounding it was unintentional. They got us all talking about their products- mission accomplished.

moped replied:
Exactly what I was trying to say - but you said it much better!

holley79 replied:
I agree. The first thing that popped into my mind if exotic and erotic. I saw a lot of ads like that in Spain and didn't have a problem with it.

Boys r us replied: Yep, you're right..in european countries there are ads like this everywhere b/c sex isn't such a TABOOOOOOOO subject like it is here..and you know what, they have a lot less teenage pregnancy there too..lol but that's for a whole nother debate! My point is that this country is way too uptight when it comes to anything sexual(and that isn't always a good thing..)

gr33n3y3z replied:
your exactly right diffrent places diffrent views