Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Commerce banned an ad published by Shawarmer, a popular restaurant in the kingdom, after it was deemed "sexually suggestive" and "offensive to women."
The ad, which was used to promote a shawarma sandwich offer deal, was captioned:
"The benefit of skinny women in winter, if one doesn't warm you up, three would get the job done."
The spot is said to be part of the restaurant's winter promotion campaign.
Soon after it went viral on social media, it hit a sour note with Saudi tweeps, who were outraged by it.
Amid the intense backlash, authorities tweeted out this statement...
"The Ministry of Commerce has banned a restaurant ad which violates public decency rules. Its management have been told to remove the spot from all billboards and from their social media accounts. They have also been called in to complete further legal procedures."
Nevertheless, the ad continues to circulate online
"Too much shway?"
People are outraged by it
"This ad should be referred to public prosecution. How is it acceptable for women to be degraded and objectified in such a disgusting manner?"
Many are calling out the unacceptable objectification of women
"It's so unfortunate that the objectification of women is now a promotion strategy. This ad is humiliating and reveals the degrading way women are viewed by some people in our society."
"Silly ad"
"A crass marketing strategy that backfired"
"This restaurant has been using offensive ads to promote their products in recent months, it's good that authorities took note of this."
Even though the majority of tweeps were angered by the ad, some tried to defend it
"Sexual references are all in your mind. There's nothing wrong with this ad."