Bonds under fire from public after airing latest ad campaign that ‘sexualised an underage girl’

RETAIL giant Bonds got a lesson in people power during the week after their latest campaign attracted all the wrong kind of attention — again.

EMBARGOED UNTIL JULY 18, SUNDAY PAPERS ONLY. Iggy Azalea for Bonds.

RETAIL giant Bonds got a lesson in people power during the week after their latest campaign attracted all the wrong kind of attention.

Launching a series of new video ad campaigns across both Facebook and Instagram on Thursday, Bonds hit a nerve with one campaign in particular which featured a young girl behaving seductively in underwear.

But followers were quick to point out the girl, who Bonds claim was over 18, looked noticeably younger, with hundreds describing the footage as “paedophilia”.

Within minutes, hundreds had voiced their disapproval with dozens of Facebook users calling for a boycott of the brand for what they claim was “sexualising an underage girl.”

A Bonds spokesman quickly defended the campaign on Facebook describing it as “tongue in cheek” however that explanation only intensified calls for a boycott and for the video to be removed.

Iggy Azalea is one celebrity who has done a campaign with Bonds.

Within minutes the people got their wish, with Bonds yanking the video and all of its accompanying comments and feedback in its entirety.

In total the campaign was launched, rejected and removed within the space of 40 minutes.

Confidential approached Bonds for comment and were told they would be contacted by parent company Pacific Brands, however a spokesman never replied.

Hamish Blake and Zoe Foster-Blake’s Bonds ad came under fire.

This comes after a long line of snafus from the apparel giant which has been plagued by PR disasters, most recently, the brand came under investigation by The Advertising Standards Board after an ad saw Zoe Foster-Blake pull down her husband Hamish Blake’s shorts and slap him on his Bonds-clad behind.

They were also criticised after another ad campaign saw the iconic name turned into “Boobs” next to women pictured in bras and underwear.