Match.com ad showing woman carrying out subservient tasks banned for being sexist

theguardian.com:

A Match.com ad campaign featuring a woman performing subservient tasks for her partner such as making sure that football is on TV, and ensuring there are a fresh towel and socks ready for after his shower has been banned for being sexist.

The dating site ran a campaign on the video-sharing platform TikTok showing clips from a day in the life of a couple. The campaign opened with a voiceover of a woman explaining the tasks she does “that make him realise I’m a keeper”.

Other scenes show the woman preparing a protein shake and giving her partner a kiss while he relaxes with his feet up after a gym workout, making sure he has what he needs after using the bathroom and “putting the football on for him every evening”.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which introduced rules to reduce gender stereotyping three years ago, received a complaint that the campaign was sexist and perpetuated negative out-of-date gender roles.

Match.com, which ran the campaign with the strapline “Find your keeper”, said the ad used unscripted examples from real-world couples to “demonstrate that small gestures between couples were integral to successful relationships”.

The company also said the ad was part of a three-video series, which were launched at the same time, with one showing gestures carried out by a man for his female partner and the other showing small acts of kindness by both partners.

Match.com claimed overall the gestures were “not one-sided” and that although the woman was shown in a domestic setting the company did not believe that implied she did most of the household chores.

“For those reasons, [Match.com] believed that the ad did not portray that women must be subservient to men or that women should shoulder the burden of