A popular Australian make up brand has caused controversy with a lipstick advert posted to social media – showing a naked man’s hairy legs.
Napoleon Perdis shared the image of the man whose modesty was protected by a stick of lip oil, to Instagram, where it promptly received hundreds of comments – not all of them appreciative.
‘Tacky, cheap, no taste, class or elegance. A vulgar and not at all artistic grab for attention,’ one commenter wrote on the post.
‘Cosmetics is about beauty. This is far from it!’
Napoleon Perdis shared a picture of a naked man who’s modesty is protected by a stick of their lip oil to Instagram, the image has received backlash
At the time of writing the image had received 654 comments, varying from those who found the image amusing to those who thought it in bad taste.
The vibrant image’s caption simply read: ‘Double Duty Infusion Lip Oil. #instorenow #makeupheals NPxx.’
One clear consensus seemed to be confusion around how exactly the image was helping to advertise lip oil.
‘So weird, it does not want to make me buy anything,’ one person wrote. ‘I don’t get it? Thought someone was playing a joke!’
‘Oh dead.. respect level just went down,’ another commented.
‘I’m so relieved I’m not the only one confused by this ad,’ another person wrote, tagging the brand and Napoleon Perdis’ daughter Lianna in the post.
One clear consensus seems to be the confusion around how exactly the image is helping to advertise their product
At the time of writing the image has received 654 comments, varying from those who find the image amusing and those you find it in bad taste
‘I’m so relieved I’m not the only one confused by this ad,’ another person wrote, tagging the brand and Napoleon Perdis’ daughter Lianna in the post (Lianna is pictured here with Napoleon)
Lianna herself appeared to comment on the advert – with a message from her Instagram account calling it ‘funny and different’.
Some people commented, saying that they believed the reason for the raunchy image was simply to get people talking.
This isn’t the first time that Napoleon Perdis has come under fire due to its advertisements.
The ads purpose has been lost on many people, with commenters saying they don’t understand the point
‘Tacky, cheap, no taste, class or elegance. A vulgar and not at all artistic grab for attention,’ one commenter wrote on the post
Earlier this year the brand displayed an ad outside a shop window in Sydney’s trendy Double Bay that showed a woman lighting another woman’s cigarette and a sign that read: ‘education is everything’.
Cancer Institute NSW CEO Professor David Currow has slammed the image as ‘incredibly irresponsible’ for attempting to ‘glamourise’ smoking to young women.
‘This piece of advertising is incredibly irresponsible and disappointing to see from an Australian company,’ Professor Currow told Daily Mail Australia in a statement.
Earlier this year they displayed an ad outside a shop window that showed a woman lighting another woman’s cigarette
The beauty brand, which started in Sydney in 1992, is expanding as Napoleon’s daughter, 17-year-old Lianna, helps advise her dad
‘Images like this, which attempt to glamourise smoking and associate it with beauty and style, risk reversing the incredible progress we have made as a country.’
Professor Currow said promoting smoking to young women is ‘dangerous and unethical’ because there’s ‘absolutely nothing beautiful about smoking’.
However, Napoleon Perdis marketing director Peter Sintras told The Daily Telegraph the drawing was ‘by no means condoning smoking but is rather a cheeky reflection of the Double Bay cafe culture’.
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Napoleon Perdis for comment on the latest advert.