Rihanna's 'sexually suggestive' perfume ad restricted in Britain

Rihanna arrives at the Costume Institute Benefit at The Metropolitan Museum of Art May 5, 2014 in New York. – Photo by AFP

LONDON: A raunchy British poster promoting Barbadian pop superstar Rihanna's perfume can only be displayed in areas where children are unlikely to see it, the country's advertising regulator ruled Wednesday.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found that the image of the "Umbrella" singer sitting on the floor with legs raised against a large bottle of "Rogue" perfume was "sexually suggestive".

The agency received one complaint about the advertisement being overly sexual and demeaning to women.

The ASA accepted that the singer was suitably clothed and that her facial expression was one "of defiance rather than vulnerability".

It concluded that poster was "unlikely to be demeaning to women or to cause serious or widespread offence", but that restrictions were needed.

"While we did not consider the image to be overtly sexual, we considered that Rihanna's pose, with her legs raised in the air, was provocative.

"Because of this, and the fact that Rihanna appeared to be naked except for high heels, we concluded that the ad was sexually suggestive and should have been given a placement restriction to reduce the possibility of it being seen by children," it said.