India: sexy deodorant adverts banned

The old advertising cliche that 'sex sells' has never been truer than in deodorant commercials. For decades advertisers the world over have followed the simple 'man sprays, women gaze' script in their ads, but that could all be about to change in India.

The Advertising Standards Council of India has banned "overtly sexual" deodorant adverts like the one above. Television channels have been told that they have five days to either appropriately modify the commercials or take them off air.

"The ads brim with messages aimed at tickling libidinous male instincts," a statement from India's ministry read. They are "indecent, vulgar and suggestive", continued the ministry, and offend "good taste and decency".

"The depiction and portrayal of women in these ads is overtly sexual," the statement said, showing women "lustily hankering after men under the influence of such deodorants".

Wild Stone is one of the brands affected by the ban. Its adverts, including the above video, are notoriously raunchy, with women apparently unable to control their sexual urges once a whiff of the deodorant is caught. Commercials for Addiction Duo and Axe, the foreign version of Lynx, also fall under the ban. ·