Marc Jacobs' latest fragrance has failed the smell test — or rather, the taste test — in England.
E! Online reports that British watchdog agency the Advertising Standards Authority has banned a print ad for Jacobs' Oh, Lola! fragrance that features 17-year-old actress Dakota Fanning with a bottle of the fragrance jutting out of her crotch.
Apparently, the ASA deemed the image too "sexually provocative" to sully Britain's eyes.
The ad had been running in publications since June, but after receiving a deluge of complaints — OK, four — the agency decided to ban the ad from further appearances.
In enacting the ban, the ASA tut-tutted that the photo "was sexually provocative" and "drew attention to [Fanning's] sexuality."
Of particular concern to the ASA was Fanning's youthful appearance, according to the group's ruling.
"We understood the model was 17 years old, but we considered she looked under the age of 16," the ASA's decision reads. "Because of that, along with her appearance, we considered the ad could be seen to sexualize a child. We therefore concluded that the ad was irresponsible and was likely to cause serious offense."
The ban didn't come without a fight; the publications that ran the ad protested the move, and Coty Inc., the company that manufactures Oh, Lola!, argued that the image is "provoking, but not indecent" and pointed out that the image doesn't depict "private body parts or sexual activity."
The ASA, as well as spokespersons for Fanning and Marc Jacobs, did not immediately respond to TheWrap's request for comment.
