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Two adverts have become the first to be banned in the UK for promoting or endorsing ‘harmful’ gender stereotypes.

Volskwagen showed a man sleeping next to a woman in a tent, two male astronauts, a disabled male athlete and a woman with a pram.

Meanwhile an advert for Philadelphia showed two men looking after babies, with one of them becoming so distracted by the food, he leaves the child on a restaurant conveyor belt.

They were both found to be sexist after being launched on the day new advertising rules were introduced on June 14 preventing stereotypes such as girls being less academic than boys, women struggling to park a car or men struggling to change a baby’s nappy.




VW said they wanted to display the ‘ability of the human spirit to adapt to challenges and change’.

The advert showed a mum sitting on a bench by a pram (Picture: PA)

Complaints argued that women in the advert were passive in comparison to the men (Picture: PA)

Mondelez UK, which makes Philadelphia, said it was meant to be a joke with the dad saying ‘let’s not tell mum’ after rescuing the baby.

They added that they had chosen to depict two dads in charge of childcare to avoid the typical stereotype of two mums.

A complaint said that men are ‘incapable of caring for children’ and would ‘place them at risk as a result of their incompetence’.

Both were found to perpetuate harmful stereotypes.

The ASA said: ‘By juxtaposing images of men in extraordinary environments and carrying out adventurous activities with women who appeared passive or engaged in a stereotypical care-giving role, we considered that the ad directly contrasted stereotypical male and female roles and characteristics in a manner that gave the impression that they were exclusively associated with one gender.

‘We concluded that the ad presented gender stereotypes in a way that was likely to cause harm and therefore breached the Code.’

The dad accidentally left the child on a food conveyor belt (Picture: PA)

The ASA did not uphold five complaints about a television ad for Nestle’s Buxton bottled water featuring a female ballet dancer, a male drummer and a male rower.

A Mondelez spokeswoman said: ‘We are extremely disappointed with the ASA decision. We take our advertising responsibility very seriously and work with a range of partners to make sure our marketing meets and complies with all UK regulation.

‘This includes pre-approval from a recognised television advertising body, before any advert is aired to the public.’

Geraldine Ingham, head of marketing for Volkswagen UK, said: ‘As both a leader within this business and as a mother, I do not believe that the roles of the women in this advertisement are in any way portrayed negatively.

‘Just like the men, they are shown taking part in challenging situations, such as in a tent perched on a mountainside and in a spacecraft, while another is shown to be embarking on what is surely life’s greatest and most valuable role – raising another human being.’

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