26 sexist ads that companies wish we'd forget they ever made

After it first appeared in London underground stations during the summer, it was the subject of hundreds of complaints to the UK's advertising watchdog regulator, mostly from people who believed it showed an unrealistic portrayal of a woman that might make other women feel their bodies were inferior.

Some called for ads that encourage women to become thinner to be banned, because they are sexist. MP Caroline Noakes has started a campaign to ban models appearing on fashion catwalks and clothing ads if they have a Body Mass Index of less than 18.

But ... it could be worse, as these old ads show. Some of them are from major brands who doubtless cringe at what they did in the past.