This Lara Stone for Calvin Klein Jean X billboard has been banned in Australia, not because it is too sexy, but because official Australia’s Advertising Standards Bureau say it speaks not only to the highly-sexualized nature of the brand, but to gang rape(!) Calvin Klein representatives have responded:

We appreciate receiving feedback on the image, and take seriously any complaint about our client’s advertising.

Our response to the complaint is that the models are partially unclothed however not nude. The woman in the image on the left is not struggling, not does she look distressed. There is no violence as the men are holding her. In the image on the right, which clearly follows as a narrative from the image on the left, the woman is relaxed and comfortable, clarifying for the viewer that there has been consent and no violence within the narrative and the imagery. This image is in a public space, and this billboard has been selected to target the Calvin Klein Jeans consumer, and is not actively directed towards children.

Calvin Klein Jeans X – Fall 2010 TV Campaign video.

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