http://au.news.yahoo.com/070225/2/12jkj.html

Dolce & Gabbana ad angers Spaniards

Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana has branded Spain as being ‘behind the times’ for demanding it withdraw a controversial advertising campaign, a newspaper reported.

Dolce & Gabbana plans to pull the advertisement, which shows a man holding a woman to the ground by her wrists while a group of men look on, following complaints from consumers’ groups.

"We will only withdraw this photo from the Spanish market. They’re a bit behind the times," La Vanguardia newspaper quoted the Milan-based fashion house as saying.

Dolce & Gabbana, known for their risque clothes and adverts, declined to comment on the matter.

Spain’s Labour and Social Affairs Ministry branded the campaign as illegal and humiliating to women, saying the woman’s body position had no relation to the products Dolce & Gabbana were trying to sell.

"One could infer from the advertisement that it is acceptable to use force as a way of imposing oneself on a woman, reinforced by the passive and complicit manner of the men looking on," the ministry said in a statement.

Dolce & Gabbana defended the campaign as art in comments reported by La Vanguardia.

"What has an artistic photo got to do with a real act?" the paper quoted the firm as saying.

"You would have to burn museums like the Louvre or the paintings of Caravaggio."

The fracas follows criticism from Britain’s advertising watchdog last month about another Dolce & Gabbana campaign showing models brandishing knives.

The British Advertising Standards Authority upheld more than 150 complaints from people concerned that the pictures glorified and condoned violent crime. In that case, the company said the ads were heavily stylised and mimicked early 19th century art.

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The first picture below is the ad in question. I’ve added the other new ads for your (and my) own pleasure!