Lynx's provocative viral video "Rules to Rugby" could be pulled after the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) received complaints the ad objectified women.
The Rugby World Cup-themed video features scantily clad women demonstrating the rules to rugby union with a droll voiceover explanation.
A spokesperson for the ASB confirmed to AdNews the online ad had received complaints and the case will be heard by the board "very soon". She said the majority of the complaints related to the objectification of women.
The video was created by Soap Creative and went viral globally, picking up 1.4 million views. The video on Lynx's YouTube channel is now locked on private. Lynx New Zealand posted a response video, changing the ending.
A Unilever spokesperson said: "Our research showed that young men lack knowledge about the rules of rugby union so this YouTube video was designed to remind our target audience about the rules in Lynx’s typical tongue-in-cheek and playful way.
"The intention was not to cause offence to any individual and we took care to request age verification to restrict the viewing of the video to people over 18 years of age. It was hosted on the Lynx YouTube channel and was not aired on free-to-air or pay TV."
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The intention was not to cause offence to any individual and we took care to request age verification to restrict the viewing of the video to people over 18 years of age. It was hosted on the Lynx YouTube channel and was not aired on free-to-air or pay TV.
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