Fake grass company ordered to take down sexist advert

The Oldham-based company said it had not intended to cause offence

An artificial grass company has been ordered to remove a billboard which the advertising watchdog said objectified and sexualised women.

The advert for Great Grass MCR Ltd in Oldham featured a woman lying in her underwear on fake grass with a phrase deemed to be offensive by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

It upheld four complaints the advert was likely to cause serious offence.

A spokesman for Great Grass MCR Ltd said "it was just a bit of fun".

Advisory: Some readers may find some of the following language to be offensive

"We didn't intend to offend anyone, we just thought people would find it amusing," the company's spokesman added.

"It is a very busy junction and the ad has been seen by thousands and thousands of people. The majority of comments I've seen on social media have been positive.

"With everything going on in the world we thought it would just give people a chuckle."

The billboard was put up by the Oldham company in June on the A62 near to its junction with the M60.

It also featured the headline "Artificial grarse experts" which the ASA said deliberately conflated the words "grass" and "arse".

Great Grass MCR Ltd said the strapline "Get laid by the best" was one the company had used "for years" and was a reference to the installation of artificial grass.

Billboard owner Vision Advertising agreed the company had been using the slogan on their marketing material "for many years" in the context that they were the best at laying artificial grass.

It also believed the image of the person sunbathing on a lawn was not offensive since it was something most people would do.

But the ASA ruled that in the context of the advert, in particular the references to "arse" and "get laid", the model was portrayed as a sexual object, rather than someone who was sunbathing.

It concluded that the advert "objectified and stereotyped women as sexual objects, was irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence".

The Great Grass MCR Ltd spokesman confirmed the advert would be replaced next week.