An Ad Standards review over a product listing on Temu’s website has been dismissed after a lengthy response by the global retail platform.
The product listing featured a woman wearing a t-shirt with the image of two reindeers heads on the front and the text ‘If you like my ornaments you should see my box.’ There are also two small present boxes featured below the text.
A complainant raised an alarm on the post, saying the product is offensive to women.
“T-shirts with explicit images and slogans like this one devalue and dehumanise women and girls,” they shared.
A spokesperson on behalf of Temu lodged an appeal regarding the case, claiming the product listing did not breach any part of the AANA Code of Ethics, particularly relating to discrimination, exploitation and sexuality.
The spokesperson told the Ad Standards Community Panel that the AANA's Practice Note with respect to the Code states that humour can be used in advertising "provided the overall impression of the advertisement does not convey a negative impression of people of that group".
“The inherent characteristics of the product are such that it is intended to be humorous and lighthearted, and Temu is of the view that this display of the product is likely to deemed as acceptable by most reasonable adults,” the spokesperson argued.
The Temu spokesperson also noted that the t-shirt in question is full-length and is worn by the model in an unprovocative position, and does not employ sex, sexuality or nudity – “but instead employs humour”.
“The complaint relates to the display of the product at its specific point of sale on Temu's website, as indicated by the URLs included by the complainant,” the spokesperson continued.
“The placement of the advertisement is an important consideration as, unlike other advertisements which have been held to contravene the Code, the relevant advertisement which is the subject of the complaint does not display the product elsewhere on the internet or amongst unrelated products.”
Amid the review, Temu removed the product listing from its website “in an act of good faith”, which the spokesperson called a precautionary measure which was undertaken voluntarily.
In an ensuing review, the Ad Standards Community Panel found that the positioning of the reindeer on the shirt did draw attention to the woman’s breasts, however, they “considered that this was directly relevant to the product being promoted.
“The panel considered that there is a clear focus on the product in the advertisement and the woman is not depicted as an object or commodity,” the case report read.
“The panel considered that the advertisement does not employ sexual appeal in a manner which is exploitative of the woman.”
The panel also noted that the relevant audience would be adults shopping on the Temu website, and acknowledged that many adults would find the humour in the advertisement to be “crude and outdated”.
“However, the panel considered that the advertisement contained only a mild level of sexuality that was not inappropriate in the context of advertising the sexualised product.
“The panel considered that the sexuality in the advertisement was treated with sensitivity to the relevant adult audience.”
Finding that the advertisement did not breach any other section of the Code, the panel dismissed the complaint.