An air conditioning advert banned from buses has appeared on a billboard.
The advert, which says "YOUR WIFE IS HOT" alongside a photograph of a blonde, young woman wearing sunglasses was rejected by transport bosses in Nottingham but still appears for city goers to see.
Lee Davies, managing director from the company Not Just Cooling, who decided to run the ad after seeing a similar one on a trip to the U.S., has defended the advert saying it's intended to make people laugh.
However the billboard has already caused two complainants to report to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), who has said it is being assessed to see if there are any "grounds for action".
Mr Davies, who is now considering a follow-up advert with the slogan "your husband is hot" in order to "keep the balance", said: "It's to have fun, to make people chuckle.
"It's all about politics in this country at the minute.
"I was in America and I saw a very similar sort of thing. I had never seen it done in this country before."
He continued: "The customers who know me as a person know that there is nothing bad or negative to this billboard whatsoever.
"Personally, I have not had any negative feedback at all. (Our customers) have all been positive."
While some locals are unhappy with the messaging of the billboard labelling it 'disgusting', according to Nottinghamshire Live, others agree that the billboard is just "a bit of fun."
Dan Lampard, 40, said: "It's disgusting, absolutely disgusting," he said. "All I can say is it is misogynistic and sexist, it's just vile and horrible.'
Sandra Mee, 79, said: "It's just not very nice towards ladies."
Read more of today's stories here
And Zoya Raza-Seikh, 22, a recent graduate from the University of Nottingham, believes the advertisement was "pushing a sexual agenda which is damaging and degrading" towards women.
However retail manager Sam Attewell, 29, said: "It doesn't bother me," while Ashton Edwards, 28, said she didn't think there was anything wrong with the ad.
The controversial billboard has also gone online with social media users commenting on the advert.
One user said: "I saw this, had a little chuckle to myself and carried on with my life.
"If I had young children, I wouldn't want them passing that on the way to school, because of the messages it gives them about society."
Another, Graham Smith, said: "What is wrong with people who object to things like this? They are so sad.
"We need more fun in our lives and this billboard is both humorous AND acceptable."
The advert was put up on Wednesday, July 17, and Mr Davies has paid for two months of advertisement; but said it's too early to say if it had helped draw in new customer.
The owner of Space Outdoor, Andrew Foster, who gave the go-ahead for the billboard, said he did not see it as offensive.
Mr Foster said to PA: "We deemed it to be appropriate.
"We said we would do our best to promote to promote (Mr Davies's) business and to get the best possible awareness for his company.
"If you have a look at the response (on social media), 95% of the comments are favourable."
He added: "I stand by it. I do not see it as offensive."
The advert comes a month after the ASA banned adverts for harmful stereotyping.
A spokeswoman said: "We're assessing the [two] complaints to establish whether there are any potential grounds for action but it's important to stress that, at this stage, no decision has been made on whether an investigation is warranted."
The display was originally intended for seven buses in Nottingham, but Adverta, which is responsible for promotions on buses and trams in the city, declined to use it as it could cause offence.
"In this case it was Nottingham City Transport and between us we agreed that there was room for the design to be potentially contentious. For that reason, we worked closely with our client to re-work their design and we've developed a variety of fresh designs that everybody is happy with.
"We wholeheartedly believe that our client meant no offence with the style of advertisement he initially wanted, but we have a responsibility to the public and so have to remain within our company guidelines."
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news. We are on Instagram too. We'll also bring you live updates and notifications of breaking news on the M.E.N. app - download it here.
