Political Commercial Featuring Boobs Banned in Ireland

Four months after Janet Jackson outraged the United States by bearing her breast on television, Ireland has banned a commercial to encourage voting in next month's European elections because it shows a bare nipple.

In Britain, where bare breasts are shown daily in tabloid newspapers, the film will be shown in censored form. The breast-feeding sequence survives but shots of the offending nipple have been edited out.

The 45-second film was produced by the European Parliament's audio-visual department and shows a suckling baby trying to decide which of its mother's breasts to feed from.

The idea is to show people making choices - like voters at the ballot box.

In Britain, film advertisment regulators found the suckling shot racy, likening the image to "the sort of breast shot you would associate with a men's magazine".

Rosie Dodds, policy research officer for Britain's National Childbirth Trust, said the advert could have been innovative and striking.

"I do think it is a pity that we make the link between the sexuality of breasts and their nutritive function," she said.

From Rueters