Underground bans House of Fraser ads

London Underground has rejected the latest risqué poster campaign by House of Fraser, saying it cannot run the risk of offending passengers by running the ads.

The campaign, which was due to break in April issues of targeted press, promotes two new clothing ranges for the store – Linea Direction for men and Therapy for young, trendy women.

The posters for the Therapy range show a scarecrow, a statue and the male sign on a toilet door, all with a symbolised erect penis and the strapline: “We aim to tease”.

One of the three Linea Direction posters shows a group of naturists in the woods with the caption: “If I hadn’t been brought up a naturist by my free-loving, let-it-all-hang-out parents, I could be wearing Linea Direction’s soft-cotton suit and laser-cut raincoat and not have wasps stinging my todger.”

Each of the three male range posters carries the strapline: “Wear it and pity those who can’t”.

House of Fraser marketing director Meg Gilmore says the ads were rejected because they were too risqué.

“They were very witty,” says a London Underground spokeswoman. “We have rules about advertising and between them these ads break just about every one of them.”

She adds: “Our customer base is as diverse as London. We can’t take the risk of offending anyone.”

The ads were not created by D’Arcy, House of Fraser’s agency, but no one at House of Fraser could confirm which agency created the ads as project work.