Diesel’s ‘Be stupid’ work too stupid for U.K.

Diesel's "Be stupid" campaign, created by ad agency Anomaly, won a Grand Prix in Outdoor at Cannes last week. But two of the executions won't be seen outdoors, or anywhere else, in the U.K. from now on. The Ad Standards Authority has banned the two ads shown here—one with a woman flashing a surveillance camera, and a second with another woman photographing the inside of her bikinis bottoms—on the grounds that they're indecent and promote anti-social behavior. The Daily Mail has the full story, in which Diesel humorously deconstructs the ads in an effort to defend them. The top ad, the fashion brand said, "tackled society's preoccupation with 24/7 camera surveillance in a light and non-threatening way," while the bottom ad "portrayed a very strong and unexpected image of femininity, aligning it with typically masculine themes." The ASA was having none of it. It said the bottom ad, in particular, was "likely to cause serious offense to many adults because it was clear that she was taking a photograph of her genitalia."