Mossimo defends Peepshow promotion

Says not about 'unlawful peeping' or the sex industry

Mossimo has defended its Peepshow ad campaign in an article printed by the Herald Sun. Collective Shout had recently exposed Mossimo for referencing sex industry practices and trivialising the crime of peeping in a blog post titled  'Mossimo Peepshow is Sexist Rubbish.'  Mossimo's defence?

But Mossimo marketing manager Leanne Wall rejected the accusations, saying the campaign was "just fun and light-hearted", and not designed to reference unlawful peeping or the sex industry.

"I think that's an interpretation," she said.

"The (phrase) 'peep show' doesn't necessarily always mean it's from the sex industry."

As pointed out in another piece Mossimo...what ever were you thinking?  the term 'peepshow' doesn't always refer to the sex industry:

Etymologically Wall may be right. Peep-show can refer to a wooden box containing a series of pictures seen on the streets of nineteenth century London. But something about casting a scantily clad Barbie against velvet drapes makes me question whether Mossimo were really trying to reference Charles Dickens.

The article goes on to say:

Mossimo are contributing to a culture where women are encouraged to see themselves and to be seen as unconditionally sexually available. You can gaze upon women in their most intimate moments and they always seem to be boundlessly happy about it.  Further, structuring the images like a peep show, with the woman’s eyes averted, creates a fantasy of non-consenting sexuality.

Read both articles by following the excerpts and links below.

Read our original blog post here.

Don't forget to vote for 'Naughty Nicole' here.

Complaints over Mossimo underwear ads

MISS Universe Australia has been embroiled in controversy over an advertising campaign accused of glorifying peeping toms.

Scherri-Lee Biggs fronted the in-store and Facebook campaign for clothing brand Mossimo that asked people to submit candid peepshow-style photos to win prizes, judged by her.

The Advertising Standards Bureau has received several complaints and is investigating after users hijacked the site last week to air their views. One user, dubbed "Naughty Nicole", uploaded a picture of herself holding a sign that read: "mossimo peepshow = sexist rubbish". Read more.

Mossimo...what ever were you thinking?

Scherri-Lee Biggs looks like she’s happily participating in some good old-fashioned female objectification. There she is, Australia’s Miss Universe, perched coyly on a chair with her fingers laced around her lurid red hooker heels. Her breasts are buoyant and her gaze is averted. Scherri is wearing more spray-tan than clothing.

But there’s something different about this image. What makes it stand out from the crushing banality of garden-variety sexist advertising is the fact that we’re looking at Scherri through a peep-hole. Scherri is a stripper more than a model, which turns you, dear reader, into a peeping voyeur.

But don’t worry! Scherri wants you to leer. She is fronting clothing brand Mossimo’s new advertising campaign called ‘Peep Show’ where people (in effect teenagers) are asked to learn from her example and create their own peep show. Read more.