Ethics Newsline®

MEXICO CITY
A series of sexually suggestive billboards has sparked renewed debate in Mexico City over the nation’s outdoor advertising laws, which leave content to the conscience of the advertiser.

The furor centers on a series of ads showing lingerie-clad models in provocative poses, coupled with suggestive double entendres.

The ads have sparked controversy over the impotence of Mexican law to regulate outdoor advertising — and boosted sales for lingerie firm Vicky Form, the Reuters news agency reported.

More than 2,000 women called in complaints, women’s-rights groups have denounced the ads as misogynistic, and several advertisers have declined to publish the ads. Regulators have asked Vicky Form to tone them down.

But Vicky Form has the final say, since Mexican law prohibits regulators from curtailing the content of outdoor ads.