British actress Keira Knightley’s Chanel advert has been banned from being aired during children’s programming, for being “too suggestive for kids.” The advert for the perfume Coco Mademoiselle was aired during a broadcast of the film, “Ice Age 2.”
The ad came under the scanner when parents complained that the ad featured overtly sexy content that was unsuitable for kids. In the ad Knightley is seen being photographed on a bed and the photographer unzips her tight leather clothing before she crawls towards him covered in just a bed sheet.
The ban came into force after the Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) shared the same opinion as the parents and ruled that the advert was “unsuitable for young children.”
“We considered the ad was suitable for older children, but that the sexually suggestive material was unsuitable for young children. We therefore concluded that the ad was inappropriately scheduled and an ex-kids restriction should have been applied to prevent the ad from being broadcast in or around children's programming,” Yahoo quoted the organization’s decision.
ASA also added, “We noted that the photographer was directly involved in unzipping the actress’s garments and that there was a suggestion that she was naked aside from a bed sheet. We also noted that there was clear sexual tension between the pair and that they appeared about to kiss on the bed.”
In its defense, Chanel has called the Coco Mademoiselle ad “playful and sensual rather than overtly sexual.” It has also explained that the brand chose to air the ad during the broadcast of “Ice Age 2” because the film was popular with adults too humor and celeb voice-overs.