• Sweden edition
Society

H&M burnt over super tan bikini campaign

Published: 20 Sep 12 09:16 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/43342/20120920/

Swedish clothing giant H&M has been slammed by Sweden's advertising watchdog over an ad campaign featuring a deeply tanned model that sparked outrage among cancer groups.

“We regret if we have upset some of our customers; we only wanted to show our latest swimwear,” said Håcan Andersson, spokesman for H&M, to Aftonbladet.

The ads, part of an outdoor campaign displayed in Sweden and 43 other countries, showed a very tanned woman modelling H&M bikinis.

“The model in the swimwear campaign is called Isabeli Fontana and she is Brazilian, which means that she has a darker skin tone than most Europeans,” an H&M representative told The Local in May.

But since the campaign was launched, the Swedish Advertising Ombudsman (ReklamombudsmannenRO) received seven complaints against the campaign, saying that it was sexist and discriminatory, that the model was too thin and that she was sporting an unhealthy tan.

The watchdog ultimately ruled that the campaign was neither sexist nor did it promote an unhealthy and skinny ideal body image.

However, the body did rap H&M for using a model that was too tan.

“It is widely known that an exaggerated exposure of the skin to radiation to the sun is bad and can lead to skin cancer. The advertisement shows an ideal through the model’s extremely tanned skin, which would be harmful to try to achieve,” the watchdog wrote in a statement.

The Swedish Cancer Society (Cancerfonden) in May blasted the advertisements.

"The clothing giant is creating, not least among young people, a beauty ideal that is deadly," the cancer society wrote in an opinion piece in the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper at the time.

"Every year, more people die in Sweden of (skin cancer) than in traffic accidents, and the main cause is too much sunning," the group said.

Having been forced to make a formal apology at the time, H&M say they never intended to promote an unhealthy ideal.

However, according to Andersson, the company hasn't had any reactions in any of the other 43 countries where the campaign was launched.

“We will simply try to take this in ahead of the next campaign and next summer,” Andersson told Aftonbladet.

The Local/rm (news@thelocal.se)

What do you think? Leave your comment below.

Your comments about this article:

The comments below have not been moderated in advance and are not produced by The Local unless clearly stated. Readers are responsible for the content of their own comments. Comments that breach our terms and conditions will be removed.

09:45 September 20, 2012 by Abe L
Man, these companies must get tired of getting "slammed" or "burnt" over every ad they put out. These watchdogs have to much time and apparently to much money to make a big deal out of things that are not a big deal.

If an ad that doesn't live up to Sweden's utopian politically correct ideals then you get slammed. This isn't that far away from what countries such as China are doing.

The international beauty ideal doesn't only get promoted by H&M and if they want to stay in business then they fly with whatever the international fashion companies come up with.
11:07 September 20, 2012 by rramirez
This whole concept of "advertising police" is moronic and the people behind it are morons. I do not mean that euphamistically, they are literally morons.
11:10 September 20, 2012 by RobinHood
Marketing a product that encourages your customers to give themselves cancer has always been a challenge. Ask the tobacco industry.

I suspect, when it comes to tanning products (including bikinis), we are at the same stage the tobacco industry was back in the fifties. People are just now waking up to the idea that blasting yourself with UV is actually quite a dangerous thing to do, and that encouraging people to make themselves sick is immoral.
11:31 September 20, 2012 by Rishonim
The model is not too thin. Maybe the women complaining are too fat. Not because she is Brazilian should imply that her skin tone is darker than most European. Brazil has 200M people and many has extremely white boring skin just like here in Scandinavia.
11:31 September 20, 2012 by peecee_uk
The image would probably be better suited to advertising Creosote.
11:38 September 20, 2012 by hpunlimited
Ok so models have to have whiter skin. That pretty much rules out using olive skinned or african models in the future then. How you got darker skin is irrelevant, wether it is from tanning, birth or from photoshop. Because a picture is just a picture. It is not surprising considering the childrens movie with a dark skinned figure just got banned too for being racist. I guess anytthing showing dark skin is bad. Wether is is cancerous or racist :-)
12:31 September 20, 2012 by rise
*sigh* What's wrong with a super hot Brazilian? Does everyone has to have the look of a pale corpse like us Scandinavians?

You NEED the sun - regardless of whether your skin from birth happen to be green, black or white! How else are you going to get enough of the vitamin D? Sure you get vitmin D from eating fish, for example, but not nearly enough of the amount you need.

The dangers of lacking enough of vitamin D is not to be underestimated. One of the worst dangers is infertility. Many are the couples in Sweden whom are not able to get children together with each other - almost as many as 15%. And I think it's pretty safe to assume one of the reasons as of why is the lack of sun light - vitamin D - in so great a part of each year.

Oh, and nowadays, what do you NOT get cancer of? :P
14:30 September 20, 2012 by Uncle
Yepp. Models should not be skinny, not brown, not driving cars, not eating hamburgers, not smoking, not holding non ecological food, not using makeup, no skin or hair creams, not talking on cellohones, not drinkning coffee, not be too young, not use botox.

Models shall be saggy, middle aged mustached women, white as a printer page, preferably with pimples and puffed small watery eyes. They should have a messy hair, yellow teeth. Some eczema and a wart would not be too harmful to the selling image.

Then and ONLY then females in Sweden's advertising watchdog will not feel insulted and worried about the public health.
15:36 September 20, 2012 by josiahjohnson
What is crazy is the existance of this advertising ombudsman. Who is this person or group who is wasting their own time and other people's money? It sounds like someone who just likes throwing their own moral superiority around and telling other people what to do.

First, they monitor advertising?! Advertising?! With all the messaging that exists today through allmanner of print communications, electronic communications, movies, etc do these people really feel they will have any impact upon society via their monitoring of advertising? And in this case they responded to 7 complaints? Its just not serious. This watchdog is a silly, frivolous undertaking.

Is the ad sexist? Even if it is, who cares? You can watch American Pie movies on regular TV here. There's massive sexism on TV every day here, but that's free speech. Focusing on this one ad with all the greater sexism that exists is pointless and nothing more than self-indulgance by this watchdog.

Does this ad promote skin cancer? That's a huge stretch but read the Metro in its travel ads or go to any travel agency - with all the sun soaked vacations being promoted let's be serious about who's really culpable about encouraging sun exposure, if anyone's really culpable other than consumers.

This watchdog is not about achieving a better society, its about giving some unexceptional person a platform so they can indulge their own ego.
15:43 September 20, 2012 by Svensksmith
Stop it, Uncle. You're turning me on.
17:41 September 20, 2012 by Migga
@ Rishonim

Why is white skin boring?
18:00 September 20, 2012 by pcgomes
A Brazilian perspective over this:

Isabeli Fontana is indeed a very famous white Brazilian model. I am also a white Brazilian, and my skin color is naturally slightly darker than hers. But I have NEVER got tanned even closer to her tone on H&M's ad, despite being severely exposed to sunlight without sunblock.

The H&M excuse, that she is Brazilian (and supposedly all have such tan), doesn't hold AT ALL. People: just google her name, and check her pictures. She's very white, and could never get such tan naturally. If she's not covered with make-up, or the photo hasn't been photoshoped, then she indeed was exposed to unhealthy cancer-prune tanning sessions.
18:39 September 20, 2012 by Bushyblondehead
Tan looks blotchy.
19:19 September 20, 2012 by Hisingen
Why b****y well advertise at all, then the watchdogs will be out of a job.

They poke their noses in where it isn't wanted more often than not. It makes you think that they are from the advent of Lutheranism in Sweden, when skirts reached the ground, and you could hardly do or think anything. They make Mrs. Whitehouse seem VERY broadminded.
19:56 September 22, 2012 by Gjeebes
Since when do Swedes tan? Its usually a pick between bright white or bright red. And since when is there enough sun in Sweden to get a tan. Wake up you idiots!
15:34 September 24, 2012 by pcgomes
@Gjeebes: why calling other idiots? Not only it's rude, but your comment is flawed. Haven't you ever head of "solariums"? They're all over Sweden...
14:01 September 28, 2012 by SkipEU
It is just a picture and as everyone know most of them are manipulated. I can't believe people complain about everything.
ADD YOUR COMMENT   (YOU MUST LOG IN OR REGISTER TO MAKE A COMMENT)
Today's headlines
Nord Stream plans new gas pipelines

Nord Stream plans new gas pipelines

Gas pipeline firm Nord Stream will hold an information meeting on the Baltic island of Gotland on Monday to introduce a proposal to extend its controversial gas pipeline project. READ () »

Royal wedding fever hits Sweden

Royal wedding fever hits Sweden

The Swedish royal family gathered in the Royal Chapel in Stockholm on Sunday for the publication of the banns of marriage ahead of the wedding of Princess Madeleine and her fiancé Christopher O'Neill. READ () »

Christian Democrat support drops: poll

Christian Democrat support drops: poll

Sweden's Green Party is on the rise while support for the Christian Democrats is at the lowest in nearly a decade, according to the latest voter poll. READ () »

Man held over armed jewellery store robbery

Man held over armed jewellery store robbery

A man was detained Sunday morning on suspicion of involvement in a violent jewellery store heist which left three people with gunshot wounds. READ () »

Vast peat fire in Skåne may burn for weeks

Vast peat fire in Skåne may burn for weeks

A fire that started on Friday afternoon in a peat bog in southern Sweden has closed down highway traffic and could take weeks to put out, according to local rescue services. READ () »

Eurovision in Malmö
Denmark wins Eurovision 2013 in Malmö

Denmark wins Eurovision 2013 in Malmö

Emmelie De Forest of Denmark takes over from Sweden's Loreen as the Eurovision Song Contest champion, capping a spectacle that kept Malmö and the rest of Europe cheering on Saturday night. READ () »

Eurovision in Malmö
Live Blog: Eurovision Song Contest final

Live Blog: Eurovision Song Contest final

The 2013 Eurovision Song Contest Final is live in Malmö, southern Sweden. The Local brings you all the latest news, reactions, and details surrounding Europe's biggest pop music spectacle. READ () »

Sweden beats Finland in hunt for hockey gold

Sweden will be playing for gold in the ice hockey World Championships after dispatching longstanding rivals and co-hosts Finland with a 3-0 win on Saturday. READ () »

More Society

 

RECEIVE OUR NEWSLETTER AND ALERTS
 
  1. Live Blog: Eurovision Song Contest final »
  2. 'Sweden next in line for housing market crash' »
  3. Solna voted best place to live in Sweden »
  4. American 'prince' says no to Swedish citizenship »
  5. Denmark wins Eurovision 2013 in Malm

     

    Highlights
    Paul Hansen/World Press Photo DoToday Scanpix File photo: AP Scanpix Finest.se Screenshot: American Apparel Hasse Holmberg/Scanpix (File) Janerik Henriksson/Scanpix Asif Akbar/sxc.hu (File) Lana Wimmer Sex in Sweden: condoms optional - study AP (File) AP fastighetsbyrån.se Scanpix (File) Juanma Perez Rabasco Finest.se scanpix.se Screenshot: Robinson's David Shankbone/WikiCommons WikiCommons Facebook Photo: Private Flikr Scanpix Ben Grey/Flickr YouTube Scanpix fastighetsbyrån.se Eddie Gee Photo: The Local Dixie Thomas Hughes

     

    Latest news from The Local in Germany

    More news from Germany at thelocal.de

    Latest news from The Local in France

    More news from France at thelocal.fr

    Latest news from The Local in Norway

    More news from Norway at thelocal.no

    Latest news from The Local in Switzerland

    More news from Switzerland at thelocal.ch

    Search News


    Register

    Register now for:
    > Free use of noticeboard
    > Special discounts
    > Weekly news roundup
    > Unlimited use of discuss

    REGISTER FOR FREE »


    Blog Update: Stripes News

    13 May 22:40

    Week 20 matches »

    "Div5 v IF Olympia Farsta: 2-2 Having come back from 1-0 down then 2-1 down, 10-men Stripes earned a worthy point from todays fixture. Lascelles took charge in goal after the keeper was red-carded and made some vital saves and interceptions. Robbie G scored from a low over head kick and then a penalty goal by..." READ »

Holiday Luxury Villa in Portugal
Casa Birgitta in Algarve, Portugal. Reduced price in best location. Private estate on white sand beach. All amenities included. Book here today! edward_george1@hotmail.com
The Local's new Marketplace
Find products and services that are specifically focused on English speakers living in Sweden!
FULL DETAILS
Counseling in English
Individuals & Couples - Stockholm Beth Rogerson PhD - Clinical, Marriage & Family Therapist
Click or call 08-5580 1266 now
Trade binary options
Create an account with Banc De Binary, the world’s most reputable binary options firm, and start cashing in today! You can start by practicing with our free $50,000 demo account.
www.bbinary.com
Therapy in English
Expat counsellor & talk therapist offers counselling for stress, relationship issues, sexuality, culture adjustment & life coaching. Private & confidential. Stockholm or Skype. Contact me today! 08-559 22 636 or
CLICK HERE