The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a provocative advertisement for PixVideo – AI Video Maker that implied users could digitally remove a woman’s clothing from images. The controversial YouTube ad, which aired in January, featured a striking “before” and “after” comparison of a young woman’s torso, transitioning from a red scribble obscuring her midriff to exposed skin in the altered image.
Overlay text boldly claimed the tool could “Erase anything,” accompanied by a heart-eyes emoji, sparking immediate backlash. Eight viewers lodged complaints, condemning the ad for sexualizing and objectifying women, labeling it irresponsible, offensive, and harmful.
ASA Condemns Ad for Promoting Non-Consensual Digital Nudity
While the ASA acknowledged that PixVideo does not officially allow users to remove clothing to create explicit content, the advertisement’s messaging clearly suggested otherwise. The regulator stated, “Because the ad implied that viewers could use an app to remove a woman’s clothing, we considered it condoned digitally altering and exposing women’s bodies without their consent.”
The ASA further described the campaign as “irresponsible,” reinforcing harmful gender stereotypes and likely to cause serious offense.
Company Response and Action
Saeta Tech, the owner of PixVideo, expressed understanding of why the ad offended viewers but attributed the issue to its messaging and presentation rather than the product’s intended functionality. The company emphasized its strict policies against generating nude or sexually explicit content, supported by automated detection and blocking mechanisms.
In response to the ASA’s ruling, Saeta Tech agreed to withdraw the advertisement and has suspended all advertising campaigns while conducting an internal review of its marketing practices.
Growing Concern Over AI ‘Declothing’ Tools
The controversy surrounding AI tools capable of digitally removing clothing has intensified since January, when Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok flooded the social media platform X with sexualized images. After a global outcry, Musk restricted Grok’s ability to generate such content in regions where it is illegal. Nonetheless, investigations and lawsuits continue worldwide over AI-generated explicit imagery.
In a decisive move, the UK government announced in December plans to criminalize the creation and distribution of AI tools designed to simulate clothing removal from images. These new laws will augment existing regulations targeting sexually explicit deepfakes and intimate image abuse, aiming to protect individuals from digital exploitation.
