New ads for e-cigarettes have raised eyebrows for content that is being considered "too smutty" for television.

The 20-second ads for VIP have already aired on British Television and minute-long counterparts went viral online. It features both a man and a woman using suggestive sexual innuendos for the product.


The TV spots have been referred to as smutty, according to Adweek. The company claims they are meant to counteract against recent Ad Standards Authority rulings, which called previous ads controversial for not being clear that their products were e-cigarettes and contained nicotine. VIP does mention the nicotine content in its new ads.

"I think it's safe to say that our ads could be considered controversial and definitely push the boundaries. However, we make no apologies for that," David Levin, co-founder of VIP said. "Due to advertising regulations, we are not permitted to include the product in the ad, so we decided to take a tongue-in-cheek approach to appeal to an adult audience and communicate the superior taste of VIP products while making it clear they do contain nicotine."

The television ad features lines including, "I want to taste it, feel it, touch it...put it in my mouth."

The online ads do show then product at the end, making it clear that both actors are talking about an e-cigarette, but also blur the lines on the raunchy content factor by featuring pauses that sound like the actors are having orgasms, as well as sharp focus on the female actor's mouth when she talks about putting the cigarette to her lips.

In the longer ad, the male actor says he wants to watch you "suck it."

There is no word on whether the ads will be pulled from the air or not since they technically do still fall within the letter of the law.

What do you think about these ads? Do you find them to be too sexual for the product they're selling? Vote in the poll below.