Naked Women And IAP Case Law: A Defense Against The Inappropriate Use Of Women In Italian Commercial Advertising

Abstract

In July 2007, an American journalist for the Financial Times wrote an article stating, in no uncertain terms, his astonishment at the inappropriate use of women in advertising and on television in Italy. He criticized and joked that the Italian advertising system uses and abuses women’s bodies with the total indifference of the Italian people. However, there has been a strong movement towards defending women’s dignity and against the disparaging treatment of the female body in commercial communication in particular over the past few years in Italian society. In order to make an impact, these feelings need to be addressed in the legal process, they need to find an appropriate institutional player; player which has finally been found in the Jury of the “Istituto dell’Autodisciplina Pubblicitaria” (IAP). The Jury, in applying the Code of Marketing Communication, has given a concrete meaning to the general and abstract clause that is included in Article 10 C.A., stating that marketing communication should respect human dignity. Dignity is an elusive concept that offers judges great power and that can be interpreted in many different ways. The German Benetton Advertising Cases show dealing with values can be very troublesome. There is always the risk of “censorious attitudes”. Returning to Italy, although the Jury of the IAP takes the values which inspire its decisions from the legal and social community, the risk of “idiosyncratic attitudes” cannot be completely avoided. In this respect, it is better that those who are obliged to respect rules and decisions are bound by their own contractual consent (consent that could, in the case, be revoked). The struggle against the commodification of women's bodies in advertising has yet to be won, but since the publication of the article in the Financial Times, much has already been accomplished.