Raunchy billboards featuring a teacher-turned-model’s OnlyFans account are endorsed by watchdogs who labeled the ads “no more than mildly sexual” after receiving a deluge of complaints.
The large posters of influencer Eliza Rose Watson, posing in a white bra, had popped up all over London this summer and were spotted in Harrow, Tottenham, Lambeth and Edgware, but were criticized for being too inappropriate for children to see.
It caused 30 people to file official complaints about the ad she advertised OnlyFans username @ElizaRoseWatson and Instagram account, to the Advertising Standards Authority, denouncing it for promoting adult sexual content.
Others believed the ad was overly sexualized and objectified and complained that the ad was offensive, harmful and irresponsible.
But today, the regulator closed complainants’ comments, stating that while the model’s clothing was revealing, the image showed no nudity and that the pose was “no more than mildly sexual.”
The posters featured an image of the top half of the model and the influencer, who now earns £1 million a year, posing in a bra top. The text featured her OnlyFans username, @ElizaRoseWatson, next to the logos of the social media platforms OnlyFans and Instagram
Billboards promoting a teacher-turned-model’s OnlyFans account have been approved by regulators after receiving 30 complaints that they were inappropriate for children to view. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received complaints that the posters featuring Eliza Rose Watson contained adult sexual content
According to the model, one of the reasons she paid for the billboards was to “break the stigma” around the subscription platform
Ms Watson, who earns £1 million a year, defended her ad, saying it complied with advertising guidelines and reflected leading trends. She added that it was custom made “avoid offending mature viewers and intrigue the younger generation.”
Meanwhile, Amplify Outdoor, the owner of the poster sites, said none of the ads were shown within 100 meters of a school, while the nearest was 450 meters away.
The ASA said: ‘While we acknowledged that the image of Ms Watson and the reference to OnlyFans could be distasteful to some, we felt that because the ad was not overtly sexual and did not objectify women, we therefore concluded that it was unlikely that there was serious or widespread crime.
‘The ad was shown on several posters in London, which was an untargeted medium and was therefore likely to be seen by a large number of people, including children.
“However, because we believed the ad was not overtly sexual and did not objectify women, we concluded that the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offense and was not placed in an irresponsible manner.”
The ASA ruled that no further action was necessary.
Watson said the ad complied with advertising guidelines and reflected leading trends, adding that she modified the ad to be “offensive to mature viewers and to intrigue the younger generation.”
Eliza said it’s not just “sexy talk” but she also talks to her fans about their families and kids, so said her psychology degree comes in handy
The model said OnlyFans has been encouraging her to stay fit and healthy during the lockdown, adding that she is “exercising and eating healthy six days a week” and wants her body to be “strong”.
She now often works 16 hours a day from Monday to Sunday as she talks to fans aged 20 to 60 – both male and female – with between 10 and 15 regulars she speaks to every day
Environmentalists Global Witness later took over three of the poster sites, on Bruce Grove in Tottenham, Norwood High Street in Lambeth and Deansbrook Road in Edgware, to comment on the pay package of BP chief executive Bernard Looney, whose earnings fell from £4.5 million to £10 million last year.
Global Witness said the “OilyFans” replacement of the previous ads was a light-hearted joke on a serious subject.
In an interview with MailOnline last month, Ms Watson revealed how she employs five people and lives in a £580,000 country house, which she paid for in cash.
She changed her life after living on the streets and becoming addicted to cocaine and alcohol.
The model told a poignant story of how she ended up sleeping on park benches and stealing from her mother to fund her drug and drinking binges after hitting rock bottom.
She shared how her desperate family helped her get back on her feet before she experienced a remarkable change of fortune.
After she quit her job as a kindergarten teacher, a friend suggested she open an Only Fans account.
She said: ‘I opened it in 2019. Then the lockdown came and it just went crazy and it really took off.
“I shared a lot about mental and emotional wellbeing and at the time that spoke to a lot of people.
“People wanted to participate not only to see more beautiful pictures, but also to talk about them with me.”
One of her siblings helps run her business, which earns her around £100,000 a month.
She has also made amends with her mother but says rebuilding trust has “taken a while” and has refunded her mother the money she has withdrawn but continues to deposit money into her account
Eliza Rose said she would “walk up to people” and ask them for money and one went to a “random” man’s house at 2am to get half a bottle of gin after she posted on Facebook that she couldn’t sleep because there was a spider in her room (Photo: Eliza Rose Now)
Of the ads controversy, she said, “The billboards did their job – they did what they were meant to do, which was just start a conversation about the whole thing.” ‘I didn’t deliberately put it near a school.
‘I didn’t know there was a school next to it. “Child safety is a very valid point, but I think there is a huge lack of knowledge about what OnlyFans is.
‘If people know that there is enormous regulation around children and the platform, they might see it differently.
“There were a few alcohol ads down the street. Parents know that kids can’t walk into a store to buy alcohol and it’s even harder to access OnlyFans.
‘If someone does something different, something new, especially in the field of sexuality, there may be opposition.
“The purpose of the ad was to start talking about something that nobody really talks about.
“No one is talking about healthy ways to use social media and not to use it. I thought it would be a small step to take that stigma away and bring it to people’s attention a little bit more.’