Artificial grass firm forced to remove billboard of bikini-clad woman

‘Just because you’re offended, doesn’t mean you’re right!’ Artificial grass firm forced to take down billboard showing bikini-clad woman with the slogan ‘get laid by the best’ pokes fun at those who complained – and reveals new advert showing a naked man

• Great Grass MCR put up the giant billboard on a busy junction near Hollinwood
• They have offered customers a 10 per cent discount by quoting ‘NOT OFFENDED’

An artificial grass firm which had to take down a billboard showing a bikini-clad woman with the slogan ‘get laid by the best’ has poked fun at those who complained about it – and revealed a new advert showing a naked man instead.

Great Grass MCR, based in Failsworth, Oldham, were forced to take down a billboard in November last year after Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK’s independent regulator of advertising across all media, ruled against it. 

The poster features headline text which states ‘Artificial Grarse Experts’. Underneath is an image of a woman wearing a thong with text which states: ‘Perfect 365 days a year… Get laid by the best.’ 

The giant billboard was put up by the company at a busy junction in nearby Hollinwood, where Oldham Road meets the M60 motorway. 

The company then slapped up a replacement sign poking fun at the people who complained, and even have offered customers a 10 per cent discount by quoting ‘NOT OFFENDED’.

An artificial grass firm has been forced to take down a billboard showing a bikini-clad woman with the slogan ‘get laid by the best’ and poked fun at those who complained – as well as revealing a new advert showing a naked man instead

Great Grass MCR, based in Failsworth, Oldham, were forced to take down a billboard in November last year after Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK’s independent regulator of advertising across all media ruled against it

Directly speaking to the four, the new billboard read: ‘Apologies to the offended 4. You found it offensive, we all found it funny. Just because you’re offended, doesn’t mean you’re right.’

Today bosses have put up a new poster featuring a hunky topless man. The sign now reads: ‘Great abs, great grass’ – while adding that their fake turf is ‘perfect 365 days a year’.

The ASA ruled the company’s bikini billboard ‘objectified and stereotyped women as sexual objects’. 

In a statement following their ruling, they went on to say the hoarding, placed close to the company’s headquarters in Oldham, Greater Manchester, was ‘likely to cause serious offence.’

They added: ‘The ad must not appear again in its current form.

‘We told Great Grass MCR Ltd t/a Great Grass to ensure their future ads were socially responsible and did not cause serious or widespread offence.’

In response, Great Grass said they’d used the slogan ‘Get laid by the best’ in the past while adding there had only been three complaints at the time of the ruling.

And they therefore believed that most onlookers, which may have numbered in the thousands, were not offended but found it amusing.

They assumed further complaints were mostly generated by people on social media encouraging others who likely had not even seen it to raise concerns.

In response to the ASA, the company said ‘Get laid by the best’ was a strapline it had used for years and the claimed ‘perfect 365 days a year’ meant it believed their grass was perfect all year round.

The ASA said: ‘Great Grass said it was noteworthy that there had only been three complaints when the ad had been seen by thousands of people. 

Today bosses have put up a new poster featuring a hunky topless man. The sign now reads: ‘Great abs, great grass’ – while adding that their fake turf is ‘perfect 365 days a year’

‘They therefore believed that most people were not offended by the ad, but found it amusing. They believed the complaints were generated by people on social media encouraging others who likely had not even have seen the ad, to complain about it.

‘Great Grass also said that to assume that the person featured in the ad was a woman was wrong and offensive to the transgender community.’

A spokesman for Great Grass told the Manchester Evening News in November: ‘The ad was a bit of light-hearted fun and not intended to offend anyone. There have been a number of people posting the ad on social media with positive comments.

‘We thought with all the problems going on in the world at the moment anything that can bring a smile is a welcome distraction. It is a very busy junction and the ad has been seen by thousands and thousands of people.

‘To the three who found it offensive, we apologise. To the fifty odd thousand who found it amusing, sorry it’s got to go.’

Source: Read Full Article