Burgen ad accused of sexualising bread

The Burgen bread ad that has caused a stir on social media. Photo / Twitter

An ad campaign for Burgen bread has been accused of sexualising women to sell a staple food.

The ad features a women sitting up in bed, holding a piece of bread and staring at the camera seductively, along with the words: "Are you still a Burgen virgin?"

Wellington women Rosie Simmons criticised Burgen over the ad in a post on Facebook.

"Would love to hear from your marketing team regarding the link they have drawn between the sexualisation of women and selling your bread?," she wrote.

"The sexualisation of women and their bodies to sell unrelated products is so old, so tired and quite frankly, boring.

"I challenge your marketing team to come up with an innovative, original campaign to engage customers - one that their mothers, sisters, wives and daughters can be proud of.

"I love your bread but this weak campaign sucks. Will not be buying anymore until you address this. Step your game up Burgen."

The company responded on Facebook saying they were sorry Simmons disliked the campaign.

No, Burgen. You really don't need to sexualization bread. pic.twitter.com/JoQ90JUrqY

— Polly is a nice name (@__catpower) September 11, 2016

"We believe Burgen is beautifully made bread and we want to share it with people who have never tried it - hence the term Burgen Virgin," the company responded.

"It's a tongue-in-cheek approach to get people talking about the brand. But it certainly is not meant to cause offence.

"We will pass on your comments and hope you may change your mind about not buying our bread."

This is not the first time Burgen has been criticised over its advertising. A similar complaint was raised in 2014, but dismissed by the Advertising Standards Authority.