David Beckham's H&M ad defended by advertising watchdogs

The ads showing Becks posing in his briefs had been branded 'offensive' by some

An advert showing David Beckham posing in his pants to promote his much-hyped H&M Bodywear range has been defended by advertising watchdogs, after it was branded 'offensive' by critics.

DAVID BECKHAM: LIFE IN PICTURES

The footballer brought Regent Street to a standstill earlier this year as he launched his new underwear range at the H&M store, after stripping down for a series of shots to model the designs.

But no sooner had the campaign launched than it received complaints from three viewers, who claimed the pictures were 'offensive' and 'contained material that they said was unsuitable for children to see'.

Today the Advertising Standards agency has backed Becks' H&M ads, ruling them 'unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence'.

It stated: 'We considered that the nature of the product meant viewers of the ad were less likely to regard the ad as gratuitous or offensive, and considered that the poses and facial expressions of David Beckham were mildly sexual at most.

'While we acknowledged that some viewers might consider the images distasteful, we concluded the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.'

Phew.

DAVID BECKHAM: LIFE IN PICTURES

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