The ad showed a number of couples in a suburban house having a 'key party', where the men put their car keys into a bowl. The women then take it in turns to pull out a set of keys, which determines the man they will spend the night with.
In the ad, for Toyota Corolla, a fat woman steps up to take her turn choosing a set of keys. All the men look away nervously, not wanting to go home with her, but as soon as she plucks the Corolla keys from the bowl, every man in the room stands up to claim ownership.
Most of the complaints were from viewers who said the ad was a negative portrayal of overweight women, with the joke resting on the fact that the men found the woman unattractive purely because of her size.
A few argued it was irresponsible in light of concerns about eating disorders, while others complained that it contained sexual innuendo at a time when children could be watching.
Toyota defended the ad, saying it was carried out in a light-hearted manner and that it had not intended to discriminate against overweight women. The ITC said the woman in question had been presented as attractive and confident and that it was unlikely to be capable of causing deep offence.
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