Renault Ad Banned For Being 'Sexually Provocative' (VIDEO)

Sex might sell cars, but a YouTube ad for the Renault Clio may have taken things a little too far.

The ad features a variety of people driving the Clio and pressing a button labeled "va va voom." Instantly a backdrop of Paris, a flower stall, romantic restaurant, baguette-seller and couple on a date appear. Lingerie-clad women spring up out of nowhere to dance suggestively around the car for two male drivers in what Renault claims is a parody of Moulin Rouge; a group of shirtless men dance and flex around a female driver.

The scenes involving the female burlesque dancers caused one viewer to complain to the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that the ad objectifies women. The subsequent ASA statement on the ruling reads:

We were concerned that the ad featured a number of shots of the women's breasts and bottoms, in which their heads were obscured, and which we considered invited viewers to view the women as sexual objects. We further considered that the choreography, dress and facial expressions of the dancers were sexually provocative and that the overall impression given was not necessarily that of a parody.

The ASA has asked Renault to remove the offending scenes, but the shots featuring the male dancers can stand as they are -- a ruling that has upset a number of Internet pundits. YouTube commenter mlgatti wrote "apparently there was no problem with men being [objectified] in this ad. Double Standard Syndrome." Responding to a Daily Mail article about the ad, commentor someguy wrote: "Why is it ok to treat men as objects but not women?"

What do you think of this ruling? Should the scenes with male dancers have been removed as well? Comment below, or join the conversation on Twitter @HuffPostWomen.