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'Sugar daddy' ad outside universities 'incites prostitution'
A series of billboard ads outside Brussels universities inviting female students to find a "sugar daddy" online has prompted widespread condemnation and legal complaints.
The ads, mounted on the trailer of a car, have been seen around the VUB and ULB campuses. The Rich Meet Beautiful web site, in its own words, is aimed at "attractive people looking for the finer things in life. They get to experience a luxurious lifestyle, and meet wealthy people on a regular basis".
The "sugar daddies" registered on the site are described as "successful men who know what they want. They’re driven, and enjoy attractive company by their side."
Opaline Meunier, president of Francophone student union Unécof said the ad campaign seeks to exploit students in a difficult financial or psychological situation.
The Belgian advertising standards body JEP has already received several complaints - including from the president of ULB. The ad has since been banned throughout the Brussels region.
The Wallonia-Brussels Federation minister for women's rights Isabelle Simonis has also filed a complaint. "This ad is scandalous and alarming. The site is encouraging young female students into prostitution. We need to act with determination, using all legal means possible," she said.
Comments
I remember seeing posters of an erotic fair in VUB. It included some graphic photos advertised at many main boards of the campus was repeated for many years. It was not something that belongs to a university atmosphere. Sadly, when they are ads degrading women, nobody says anything and it is accepted as freedom of expression. I am glad there is a reaction to this new awful ad.