This year, International Men’s Day, on 19 November, will focus on three main themes: Making a positive difference to the wellbeing and lives of men and boys, raising awareness and/or funds for charities supporting men and boys’ wellbeing, and promoting a positive conversation about men, manhood and masculinity.
Sexist depictions, objectification, and irresponsible depictions of body image in advertising can be offensive, have a harmful effect on individuals’ wellbeing and also promote negative stereotypes about men and masculinity. The ASA has taken a strict line on ads which are harmful, offensive or irresponsible and advertisers must take care to avoid making negative generalisations. Below, we explain what advertisers can do to make sure they don’t fall foul of the CAP Code.
Don’t promote a negative body image
Ads must not portray body types in an irresponsible manner, imply that men can only be happy if they look a certain way, or present an unhealthy body image as aspirational. It’s vital that marketers ensure that all ads for beauty treatments, diet and exercise programmes or surgeries aimed at men do not take advantage of or exploit insecurities.
An Instagram post showing ‘before and after’ images of a 14 year old boy, in connection with a diet and exercise programme, was considered problematic because it exploited young people’s potential insecurities around body image and risked putting pressure on them to take extreme action to change their body shape.
Don’t objectify men
Focussing on men’s bodies in an ad, particularly where this is unrelated to the product or service being advertised, is likely to present men as objects, and will be problematic.
The ASA upheld a complaint about an ad for an estate agency which pictured a man’s torso and stated “WOW, WHAT A PACKAGE”, with further text covering his crotch, because the ad objectified the model by using his physical features to draw attention to an unrelated product.
Don’t trivialise mental health issues
Suicide is often cited as a leading cause of death among men, and advertisers have a responsibility to make sure their ads don’t have an adverse impact on those affected by mental health issues, or on society more broadly.
In 2019 the ASA upheld complaints about an ad for life insurance, which featured an image of a man leaning the front of his head against a wall with his arms by his side with text which stated “… Life insurance to die for”. Although the ad did not make a direct reference to mental health or suicide, the ASA considered that the image created the impression that the man felt isolated and, in the context of an ad for life insurance, would be understood as an allusion to suicidal feelings. The ASA considered that, by alluding to suicide to promote life insurance, and trivialising the issue of suicide, the ad was likely to cause serious offence.
Similarly, a banner ad for an online betting company, which stated “SAVE YOURSELF” alongside a silhouette of a man hanging from a rope by his neck was considered socially irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence by the ASA, in particular to those affected by suicide, mental health conditions or gambling problems.
Don’t use harmful gender stereotypes
Code rules prohibit ads from featuring harmful gender stereotypes, and Advertising Guidance provides additional scenarios which demonstrate what is likely to be considered problematic. Gender stereotypes might include associating certain occupations or positions with a specific gender, e.g., women being primarily responsible for childcare and men being responsible for financial security and can also include characteristics or behaviours usually associated with a specific gender, such as being emotional or rational, or weak or strong.
Ads should not depict roles or characteristics in a way which suggests certain roles are suitable only for one or another gender. An ad for Philadelphia cheese, which depicted two babies on a restaurant conveyor belt while their hapless and distracted fathers chose their lunch, and said “let’s not tell mum”, breached the Code because it perpetuated a harmful stereotype that men were incapable of caring for children (a role stereotypically attributed to women).
Ads which strongly contrast what might be considered a boy’s stereotypical personality (e.g., daring) and a girl’s (e.g., caring) are likely to be problematic, as are ads which belittle or mock someone that doesn’t appear to confirm to stereotypical roles or characteristics. This could include mocking a man for conducting stereotypically ‘female’ tasks, or displaying stereotypically ‘feminine’ traits, even if the ad was meant to be funny – using humour won’t automatically mean an ad isn’t problematic.
Search our AdviceOnline library for more advice on these issues and for further bespoke advice on your own non-broadcast ads, our Copy Advice team are here to help.
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