A television advertisement for the new Renault Twingo car has been banned in Italy by both Rai, the state broadcaster and Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset channels, reports the Daily Mail.
The advertisement, made by the French company Publicis, features two thirty-something women, a blonde and a brunette, who are attracted to each other at a party. They go into a bedroom and the brunette starts to undress, discarding her pink mini dress, while the blonde holds up a black stocking with which she blindfolds the brunette. Then she sees the pink dress on the floor, picks it up and puts it on. She runs outside, where the Twingo is waiting and proceeds to compare the colour of the dress to that of the car. At the end of the spot, she drives off in the car.
This is all we see of the car and, as Corriere della Sera points out, no technical details about it are mentioned, nor do we see the interior of the car. No price is shown or mentioned.
A Publicis spokesperson has defended the advertisement, saying that it is original and not vulgar but gay rights groups in Italy are claiming that it is offensive.
