Unilever vows to ban porn site advertising following newspaper investigation
Unilever has banned its brands for advertising on pornography sites after a newspaper investigation found illegal content was circulating on the Canadian website Porn Hub.
The FMCG giant’s Dollar Shave Club had run a campaign on Porn Hub earlier this year in which it said use of products meant customers “wouldn’t have to visit this site as much”.
The investigation, by The Sunday Times, alleged Porn Hub had failed to take down illegal content – which included images of children – some of which had been on the site for three years.
The BBC reported how Unilever has now introduced a policy to formally ban its brands from advertising on porn sites. Unilever said Dollar Shave Club, which it acquired in 2016, operated independently of head office but that it had vowed to follow suit and pull advertising on porn sites.
“We don’t support advertising on porn sites, and we are extremely concerned about the content that the Sunday Times shared with us,” a Unilever spokesman said.
“This type of content is deeply troubling, and we will ensure that none of our brands advertise on Pornhub again, or on any other porn sites.
“Dollar Shave Club has also confirmed that they will not advertise with Pornhub again, or on any other porn sites.”
Porn Hub said it had internal procedures to take down illegal content which he described as “horrific”.
Kraft Heinz has also come in for criticism for advertising on Pornhub.
It took over the website’s homepage for a day in January to promote Devour, its frozen food brand, using a campaign inspired by #FoodPorn.
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