Something remarkable happened when Facebook banned these body positive, pro-diversity adverts
LONDON -- A British lingerie brand whose body positive adverts were removed from Facebook has succeeded in its fight to have the ads reinstated.
Plus size lingerie brand Curvy Kate placed the adverts as part of its Scantilly collection #TheNewSexy campaign celebrating diversity.
The campaign -- which features a transgender woman, an amputee, and someone living with alopecia -- is described by the brand as "a diverse range of hot women, all spreading an inspirational and empowering message."
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However, three of the ads were removed by Facebook after it deemed them to be in violation of its advertising policy, which prohibits "ads that promote sexual acts, sexual videos and publications (ex: magazines, blogs, Pages), strip clubs, or adult shows.”
The banned ads include trans model Effie's story.
And a post about plus size half-cup bras.
“There is still such a lack of diversity in the media and we wanted to share this image to challenge social ‘norms’," wrote a spokesperson for Curvy Kate in a blog post.
"#TheNewSexy calls for women of all shapes, backgrounds, looks and sizes to be represented in the media and looks to redefine how society views the word ‘sexy’," the spokesperson continued.
After receiving a notification from Facebook stating the reason for the banning of the ads, the brand lodged an appeal.
Frustrated with the lack of response from Facebook, the brand decided to take matters into their own hands by encouraging fans to spread the word about the removal of the ads.
"These images are not hurtful but celebrate a message of diversity, strength and beauty. As you know, Scantilly is ‘Fearless Lingerie for DD to HH cups’ – so we thought, let’s be fearless," the spokesperson wrote in a blog post.
Fans of the brand shared the blog post penned by Curvy Kate, and commented with words of support on the Scantilly Facebook page.
Thankfully, the plan worked. Facebook responded to the company's appeal, apologised for the error and approved the ad.
In a statement emailed to Mashable, a spokesperson for Facebook said that the volume of adverts reviewed by Facebook means that mistakes sometimes happen.
"Our team processes millions of advertising images each week, and in some instances we incorrectly prohibit ads," said Facebook's spokesperson.
"This image does not violate our ad policies. We apologise for the error and have let the advertiser know we are approving their ad," the spokesperson continued.
The adverts have since been reinstated on the lingerie collection's Facebook page.
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
