Bra firm dumps agency over 'sexist' adverts

Gossard, the lingerie firm whose advertisements have invited women to "find their G-spots" and "get pleasure from something soft", has split with its latest advertising agency after just nine months – saying that its ideas are sexist.

Directors of the underwear giant say that they have axed TBWA, the firm run by the marketing wunderkind Trevor Beattie, because they are tired of advertisers targeting their campaigns at men instead of women.

For his part, Mr Beattie, who redefined lingerie adverts eight years ago with his phenomenally successful "Hello Boys!" Wonderbra adverts for Playtex, denies this, insisting that the decision to part ways was mutual.

The split was announced by Gossard's recently appointed marketing director, Shaeren McKenzie, who has gone on record in the past as stating that lingerie ads should depict women looking "beautiful" rather than "sexy".

In a tersely worded statement she said: "TBWA and I have different views on lingerie advertising. I want to advertise to women, not men, but traditionally the market has targeted men and I want to put a different spin on it."

She added that, while she had been pleased with the eventual outcome of TBWA's recent £5m Gossard campaign, Altogether, in which a woman is embarrassed to be found wearing mismatched undies after a road accident, the process of achieving it was "very painful".

Ms McKenzie said later that the decision to part company with TBWA had been Gossard's alone, adding: "I'm new to this brand, and it's my job to make sure it attracts women by getting across the idea that nice underwear can make them feel beautiful.

"If men like it too, that's fine – however you shoot a woman in lingerie, men are going to like it.

"The trouble is that some people think as soon as you've got a woman in underwear she's got to be sexy, but to me, if she looks beautiful, she doesn't have to be pouting."

Mr Beattie denied his company had been sacked by Gossard, insisting it was "a middling thing".

"It depends who does the talking," he said. "Gossard is doing a lot of talking, and whoever does the talking tends to dictate the story. I'm fed up with the whole thing."

Garry Lace, the chief executive of TBWA's London operation, was more frank, saying pointedly: "We are happy to have parted company with Gossard. In the end, we simply couldn't do business with it. It is about to embark on its fourth agency relationship in 12 months."

The news has been greeted with bemusement by industry observers, who point out that Gossard has been behind some of the most criticised underwear campaigns of recent years.

In 1996, former It girl Sophie Anderton was pictured on an Ultrabra poster reclining suggestively in long grass. The accompanying slogan read: "Who says a woman can't get pleasure from something soft?"

And two years ago, the company's £1m campaign for its Satin range backfired, when the Advertising Standards Authority ordered it to tear down posters featuring the strapline: "Gossard – find your G-spot."

Francesca Newland, the news editor of Campaign magazine, believes those who criticise underwear ads as too "male-orientated" are missing the point: one of lingerie's main attractions to women, she argues, is its ability to lure men.

"Women want to look sexy to men, and Gossard ads always present underwear as sexy," she said. "When women buy nice underwear it's with men in mind – not feminism."

She added that, while some underwear adverts were "too obvious" in their approach, most proved as popular among women as men, though not always for the same reasons. Aside from campaigns focusing on frilly underwear, some of the most successful had been those that used "science" to promote their products, like the Berlei sports bra ads featuring the tennis star Anna Kournikova.

Bra wars: storms in a D-cup

By Claire Newbon

Playtex (1994)

The campaign: Trevor Beattie launched his Wonderbra with the catchlines "Hello Boys!" and "Or are you just pleased to see me?"

Model: Eva Herzigova

Cost: £500,000

Reaction: Before its relaunch in 1991, Wonderbra was worth £10m. In the first full year of the campaign, worldwide sales reached £180m

Gossard (1997)

The campaign: A risqué poster for Glossy bras: "If I want something rough on my chest I'll find a man"

Model: Sophie Anderton

Cost: £1m

Reaction: The campaign prompted 36 complaints, none of which was upheld

Pretty Polly (1999)

The campaign: Trevor Beattie was back with a TV ad for satin and lace push-up bras for bigger-breasted women with the lines "I'm a sex goddess" and "It isn't a sexual thing, it's a natural thing"

Models: 11 C-cup ladies

Cost: £500,000

Reaction: Chris Evans described it as "the best commercial I've ever seen" but it was banned from being shown before the 9pm watershed

Gossard (2000)

The campaign: Three posters for its Satin range had the captions "If he's late you can always start without him", "Bring him to his knees" and "Gossard – find your G-spot"

Model: Unknown

Cost: £1m

Reaction: The company was ordered to rip down two of the sexually charged posters

Berlei (2000)

The campaign: Posters for Shock Absorber bra and pants carried the strapline: "Only the balls should bounce"

Model: Anna Kournikova

Cost: Her seven-year contract was estimated at £1.5m

Reaction: Enjoyed widespread success

Agent Provocateur (2001)

The campaign: Featured a bucking bronco machine and the line: "It's the most erotic lingerie in the world. Now for the proof. Would all the men stand up?"

Model: Kylie Minogue

Cost: The singer was paid £100,000 alone

Reaction: It was banned for being too raunchy for the general public. It was screened at adult-only film showings but soon found its way on to the internet