Flooring billboard featuring 'sexualised' woman is removed

The advert has been removed after Suffolk Rape Crisis said it "perpetuates the culture of rape"

An advert for flooring featuring a woman and the tagline "it's so easy to lay" has been removed from a billboard after it was criticised for "perpetuating the culture of rape".

The large advert for Garage Floors Direct appeared on the Whitehouse roundabout in Ipswich.

A charity questioned whether the woman was "easy to lay" or if the flooring was so easy that a woman could do it.

The Essex-based flooring company removed the ad.

The billboard was noticed by a trustee of Suffolk Rape Crisis last week.

In an open letter posted on the charity's social media channels to both Garage Floors Direct and Billboard Media - which manages the roadside advertising space - they wrote: "We have some questions... what's easy to lay?

"The sexualised woman in a tiny dress and high heels? Or is the floor so easy to lay, even a woman could do it?"

The charity questioned whether the advert was also appropriate to be placed next to one for a family tourist attraction and another for a nearby school.

The advert was placed next to one for a family attraction and one for a school

The letter continued: "Adverts like yours affect how women feel about themselves, how women are treated by the police and the justice system and by wider society.

"This advert is playing into archaic stereotypes that perpetuate the culture of rape.

"Your advert supports the idea that women's bodies are commodities to be used."

Urging the companies to "take it down", the charity added: "Although we understand that your intent may have been light-hearted, it is crucial to emphasise that these seemingly harmless acts of discrimination against women fuel the acceptance of their mistreatment and the perpetuation of violence towards them."

Sophie Robinson, a trustee for the charity, said: "This advert had to go through so many people before it was printed and put up - but people are still accepting of these misogynistic attitudes.

"A lot of work still needs to be done about how women are treated in society."

The billboard is now blank where the flooring advert used to be

In a statement released to the BBC by Garage Floors Direct, based in Manningtree, Essex, a spokesperson said: "We have had the billboard removed as a matter of urgency, as soon as we were made aware of it causing offence."

The BBC also asked Billboard Media for comment.