WATCH: Were you offended by this tampon advert banned from Irish television?

Justin Kelly

Reporter:

Justin Kelly

Email:

justin.kelly@iconicnews.ie

There has been widespread debate over the last 24 hours after the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland banned this Tampax advert from Irish television.

The authority received 84 complaints about the advert which depicts a chat show discussing the correct use of tampons for women. 

The advert suggests that if women 'feel their tampons' they need to 'get them up there, girls.' Complainants labelled the advert, "crude, vulgar, unnecessary, embarrassing, distasteful, inappropriate and over-descriptive."

The authority rationale for banning the ad read: "The Committee noted the Code required that advertising should not cause grave or widespread offence. The Committee noted that the advertisement, although light-hearted in nature, provided factual information in a manner that was neither explicit nor graphic. 

"They did not consider that the advertisement had caused grave offence. They noted, however, the level of complaint that had been received and the concerns expressed by complainants about the advertising and considered that it had caused widespread offence. In the circumstances, they considered that the advertisement had breached Section 3.16 of the Code."

Twitter has since exploded with differing opinions on the advert and the ASAI decision. An Irish Times articles published on Thursday ran with the headline: "Tampax’s TV ad has been banned. Get a grip, Ireland." The vast majority of social media discourse has been critical of the ASAI. 

SEE SOME TWITTER REACTIONS BELOW: