A New Zealand men's jewellery company is facing controversy after its latest campaign featured a clothed man's ring-adorned hands modelled on a naked woman's breasts, crotch, and bottom.
The campaign was met with backlash from the brand's New Zealand audience, with many taking to Twitter to vent their frustrations.
if @iloveugly think they're revolutionary for sexually charging the female body to sell some rings, well then they're both idiots and sexist
@ACCLAIMmagazine @iloveugly photos for this range are sexist and gross. Males in controlling position to a woman's body as a prop #sexist
lmao I love ugly's new campaign, get with it m8s 50 shades of misog was ages ago
nothing like the feeling of a cold I Love Ugly ring on your naked body from a man who is allowed to stay full dressed
The funniest thing about @iloveugly is that any dude wearing 900 huge rings at once has never even caught a glimpse of an actual boob IRL
I Love Ugly itself seemed rather nonplussed by the response its advertisements had caused.
Mixed reviews about our latest ring campaign. Some love it, some hate it. If you're nervous about something . You're onto something good.
The national president for the National Council of Women for New Zealand, Rae Duff, told BuzzFeed News the images were disappointing and promoted unequal power dynamics.
“We are disappointed to see I Love Ugly’s objectification of women in its latest ad campaign," she said. "The images use women’s bodies as mere props and promote unequal power dynamics. It reflects how too often women in our society are seen as merely sexual objects and this feeds into our culture of abuse and violence against women. As a brand that targets young men, they should be doing more to promote healthy attitudes.”
I Love Ugly did not respond to a request for comment.
