Commuters think this super weird Tube ad is 'demeaning' to women
An advert for London estate agents Marsh and Parsons is to be removed after members of the public called it out for sexism.
The text of the advert appears to describe the pictured woman as a "modern extension" to her older partner, who's described as a "charming period property".
People took to Twitter to voice their criticisms of the ad, and several made complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority.
"Yuk," wrote one Twitter user succinctly.
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"??," queried another.
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Many wondered what the message was actually intended to be.
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One person dubbed the ad "demeaning beyond words".
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Some felt the ad was totally outdated.
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David Brown, CEO of Marsh & Parsons, said the ad was intended to be part of a series of "tongue-in-cheek" comparing people to property and reflecting "the range of people" and properties they work with. "We have always tried to get our message across with a gentle sense of humour and up until now, our work has been extremely well-received," Brown said in a statement.
"The campaign, created by a team of men and women, is designed to be thought-provoking and to prompt conversation, but it was not our intention to cause offence," Brown continued.
He said that this particular ad had caused offence and the company would be taking steps to remove it as a result.
Topics Advertising
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.
