The UK’s advertising watchdog has slammed a Fruity King social media post for being derogatory towards women.
On Wednesday, the Advertising Standards Authority posted its weekly list of companies whose promotional activities have caused certain members of the viewing public to blow a gasket. This week’s list included a promoted tweet by Fruity King Casino, a licensee of white-label online casino supplier ProgressPlay.
The tweet in question, which was posted on September 8, showed the female hosts of ITV daytime program Loose Women dressed in bathing suits. The tweet’s accompanying text declared: “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. #LooseWomen18”
A complaint was filed based on the claim that the tweet was derogatory towards women. In response, ProgressPlay Ltd claimed it had contacted Fruity King, told them to immediately remove the tweet and demanded answers as to what Fruity King’s social media mavens were thinking.
ProgressPlay claimed Fruity King told them the tweet’s text was in reference to the TV show, and Fruity King’s apparent belief that it a crap program. As such, Fruity King didn’t view the tweet as derogatory towards the women in the photo.
ProgressPlay said it bought this explanation/justification, but nonetheless instructed Fruity King not to post the tweet again and suggested the company might want to review their social media policies.
The ASA upheld the viewer’s complaint, saying the original image was intended to portray a positive image of women’s bodies, while the Fruity King text was clearly “targeted at the women shown in the image and, consequentially, ridiculed what it represented.”
The ASA also reached out to Twitter, who confirmed that the tweet would infringe its advertising policies that prohibit promoted tweets deemed to be low-quality, offensive or hateful.
This isn’t the first time that Fruity King’s attempts to be outrageous on Twitter have fallen short of the mark. Last year, the company caused outrage when it compared footballer Jamie Vardy’s gaunt frame and shaven head to “an extra from Schindler’s List.”
