Indonesia bans K-pop supergroup Blackpink’s miniskirt commercial

A man watches a commercial featuring K-pop supergroup Blackpink on his laptop in Jakarta on December 12, 2018, after the advertisement was banned by the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission. – A television ad featuring K-pop supergroup Blackpink’s members wearing mini-skirts has been banned from Indonesian airwaves, prompting a furious online backlash from netizens. The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission late on December 11 ordered 11 TV stations to yank the commercial, saying it was indecent. (Photo by Bay ISMOYO / AFP)

JAKARTA – A television ad featuring members of K-pop supergroup Blackpink dressed in miniskirts has been banned from Indonesian airwaves, prompting a furious backlash from fans.

The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission ordered 11 domestic TV stations to yank the commercial late Tuesday, saying it was indecent.

The order followed a petition signed by more than 100,000 people asking the commission to cancel the ad – which in turn sparked a tit-for-tat campaign calling for the expulsion of the woman who launched the original petition.

The ad features four members of the top-selling Korean girl band singing and dancing to promote Shopee, an Indonesian online retailer.

Indonesia’s broadcasting watchdog said the ad flouted moral norms in the world’s biggest Muslim majority country.

“Companies need to be careful when they’re making a commercial that they don’t associate their product with something Indonesians see as negative,” commission head Hardly Stefano said in a statement Tuesday.

Shopee called the commission’s remarks “very valuable input” but added the ad had been green-lit by another government agency prior to its airing.

The decision to ban the ad was widely panned by Blackpink fans in Indonesia.

“This is too much – you can see women dressed that way in any mall in Indonesia,” Disna Harvens told AFP. “It’s not vulgar at all.”

Blackpink has quickly become a household name at home and among K-pop fans overseas with their signature hip hop-infused music, impeccably choreographed dance routines and edgy fashion styles.

They also stand out in a K-pop industry largely dominated by boy bands. /kga