The FOX clothing chain announced Monday it would remove billboard ads depicting a young man and woman with only a blanket covering their upper bodies due to pressure
from the ultra-Orthodox sector.
The ads, starring Bar Refaeli and Noam Tor, have been replaced by more modest advertisements of their winter line.
"FOX has decided to replace the pictures due to a number of appeals received by the chain over recent days. Despite the limited number of the appeals, the chain has decided to consider them because it is a fashion chain that appeals to the general public and all its sectors," a statement from the clothing chain said.
'Modest' picture replaces controversial ad
The chain's managers also apologized to the haredi public, claiming that no harm was intended.
On Thursday the website "Haredim" reported extensively on "a crass and rude advertising campaign like none other" and said that the accompanying television version of the ads managed to shock "even non-religious viewers." According to the news site, the haredi public must "go to war for its right to live according to its beliefs."
The Holiness and Education Watch Chairman Rabbi Mordechai Balloy even hinted that he would initiate a boycott of FOX when he noted that "thousands of haredim buy at the chain."
According to him, "The haredi public does not cease to finance those who damage it… the recent rude campaign does not prevent thousands of young haredim from buying at this chain. It must be understood that this is not a joke. 'Pictures of vanity' are not a catch phrase. They damage the holiness of every Jew."
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