Perplexing Censorship

WARNING: As you scroll down, this post is not safe for work.

We've posted about Tom Ford's most recent provocative campaign (see here), but Urban Artiste drew our attention to an interesting development. The Italian Advertising Institute has banned one of his ads for being too "vulgar," "sexually implicit," "beyond bad taste," and an "offensive gesture which insults women and the dignity of all" (quotes found at The Daily Telegraph). Which ad?

Not this one (found here):



Nope, not this one either (found here):



Nope, not even this one (found here):



Or this one (found here):



Nope, they banned this one (found here):



To be fair, I can't find out much information on this. I don't even know for sure if the other ads circulated in Italy (though I don't know of any reason why they wouldn't be). I'd love your speculations as to why the last would be singled out for censorship, as well as any additional information you hear about the ban.

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"No" Doesn't Really Mean "No"

Here we have a young woman (possibly a teenager) with a vial of Fetish perfume hanging between her breasts. The text of the ad, which ran in magazines targeting young women, says:

Fetish #16: Apply generously to your neck so he can smell the scent as you
shake your head 'no.'

I assume I don't have to explain the implication of that one. I found it here.

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An Alternative Image Of Love

Miguel in Barcelona sent us this government-sponsored poster aimed at promoting egalitarian relationships. He translates the text as:

The love has to be free
Free of machismo
Free of fights
Free of jealousy

This image, as a representation of idealized egalitarian love, is a nice contrast to the representations of love common in the U.S. (and in Spain?) that make power asymmetry sexy, desirable, and constituitive of love. Consider the love affair between this apple and pear and these two images (which look more like the fruit than Miguel's image above):

Thanks to Miguel for sending us our first image from Spain!

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Passion or Attack? UPDATE

I posted this first image back in October:

This ad is disturbing because you can't really tell if it's consensual or an attack. And the perfume is called "Unforgivable."

UPDATE: One of my students recently pointed out the ad for Unforgivable for Men:

Could provide a really interesting discussion of differing images of masculine and feminine sexuality and power.

And here's a video of another ad for Unforgivable for Men, clearly linking sex and power:

Gaultier Perfume Bottles Shaped Like Bodies

The first two are from the Gaultier Classique line. The third image is called Le Male. The final image is Fleur Du Male. You can see other examples of the women's line here.

Thanks, Melissa C.!

Vulva Cologne: WARNING--Not Work Safe!

I don't know what to make of this product. The site, apparently based in Germany, claims it's a scent that brings to mind a...well, you know. I assumed it was a joke, but when you say you're ordering, it takes you to PayPal and I was able to log in to my account and everything. I could not bring myself to hit the "pay now" button just to see, because I really don't want a bottle of anything called Vulva.

New Cologne, Same-Old Female Objectification

This is one of the ads for "Tom Ford for Men", a new cologne for men by Tom Ford.

Check out the extent to which the female model is objectified:

http://www.tomford.com/en/

The Original Ad for the Cologne Bottle I Posted a Few Days Ago

Phallic Symbolism

"Black" cologne spray by Pierre Cardin. The ad in Rolling Stone has a guy with his shirt unbuttoned all the way and says "Set the night in motion."