Abercrombie & Fitch ad 'indecent' but will stay for now

The advertisement featuring a topless man that is plastered on the Orchard shopfront of American fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch breaches the local advertising code of decency, said a watchdog.

The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS), which made the ruling, has called for the ad - put up after April - to be removed.

But there is a hitch - ASAS has no legal rights to enforce its decision. The picture of a model wearing a pair of low-slung jeans, which spans the entire four-level shopfront, remains on display at the Knightsbridge mall in Orchard Road for now.

Some people who found the ad to be lewd and inappropriate for the prominent location wrote to The Straits Times' Forum page last month, urging for it to be taken down.