Spanish nurses demand Unilever axe "sexist" advert

MADRID Oct 12 (Reuters Life!) - Spanish nurses are threatening to sue consumer goods giant Unilever over a deodorant advert because they say its saucy depiction of a nurse in suspenders is a slur on the profession, newspapers reported.

"We will immediately begin legal action, publicity and any other measure necessary to...correct what we consider a gratuitous and unjustifiable affront to the nursing profession and to women," newspaper El Economista reported the General Council of Spanish Nursing as saying on Friday.

The advert plastered on billboards around Madrid and in other Spanish cities shows a young "nurse", hands on hips, wearing a short medical coat and stethoscope.

Out of a deodorant can pop the words 'Bom Chicka Wah Wah' -- the uncontrolled gasp women are meant to utter when smelling Axe, or Lynx as it is branded in the UK and Ireland, according to Unilever marketing.

Nobody at the nursing group, which represents 200,000 workers, was available for comment on Friday, a public holiday in Spain.

A Unilever spokesman in London said the company was careful not to offend anyone and the ad was aimed at young men.

"Axe as a brand has a lighthearted, irreverent approach to advertising. Clearly it is not meant to be taken that seriously," he said.