Protein World's 'Are you beach body ready' advertising campaign faces backlash in New York

Protein World has launched its "Are you beach body ready" advertising campaign in the US, after it was widely criticised in the UK for objectifying women.

The controversial ads for Protein World's slimming products, featuring a bikini-clad model were displayed at subway stations in New York, leading to immediate protests. There was also a large billboard on display near Times Square.

However, local people started protesting against the campaign just like their British counterparts for "objectifying women".

A group of campaigners also used large stickers of the US women's football team kit to cover up the 'beach body'. The protests are being led by Lannie Hartley and Alia Roberts, two are advertising creatives with BBH.

"We did not like the message these ads were giving women. It's crass and in your face and at the end of the day, is body shaming," Hartley was quoted as saying by the Telegraph.

In addition, two feminist groups, Redstockings and National Women's Liberation, are distributing stickers that read "This Oppresses Women" and are placing them over the ads.

"These advertisements are not just offending or insulting us, but oppressing us by creating a hugely pervasive climate of sexualizing women — especially in New York City, where the ads are as loud as the male street harassers," Adrielle Munger, an activitist with Redstockings, told TODAY.com.

"Their ads are just another addition to the barrage of oppressive media and advertisements that create a climate of harassment towards women and our bodies."

A Change.org petition against the ads has so far received more than 650 supporters.

People are also flocking around various social media to protest against the campaign.

When the campaign was launched in London, it was heavily criticised for being sexist and for using the bikini-clad model to make individuals feel "physically inferior to the unrealistic body image of the bronzed model".

An online petition on Change.org against the ad attracted more than 70,000 supporters, and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received nearly 400 complaints.

The ads were banned in April in the UK due to concerns that its health and nutrition claims were not authorised on the EU Register.

However, the ASA on 1 July ruled that "the headline and image were unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence".

"Although we understood the claim "Are you beach body ready?" invited readers to think about their figures, we did not consider the image of the model would shame women who had different body shapes into believing they needed to take a slimming supplement to feel confident wearing swimwear in public. For that reason, we concluded the ad was not irresponsible," the ASA said.