This image from the brand/designer Duncan Quinn depicts a smart and well-dressed man holding a woman in her underwear by her neck with what seems to be a tie that he would have removed from his outfit. This image is considered highly controversial due to some heavy underlying messages.
The suggestion of dominating and authority is quite a common theme in today’s society. We believe that men should be ‘men’ and what being a ‘man’ means is usually being strong, not showing emotion and having power. In this way, the photo may be directed towards a female audience as it shows elements of what women should find attractive in a man. The idea of women as the weaker sex relying on a man could be attractive due to the idea of being looked after and feeling safe. This man may not be protecting the woman but appearing in a suit would suggest success which also then suggests financial support. The subliminal messages could evoke something sexually appealing in this image.
This photo can be perceived as demeaning to women. The woman is bound by the man, implying that she is subservient to the man. He has her powerless. This could be seen to have a fetish implication. The woman is in her lingerie which has an obvious link to sex. “In fact, both men and women find the sexual innuendoes of female bodies to be emotionally appealing, which helps incline both men and women to want to buy the product.” Her neck is bound and controlled by the man, which would scream to a lot of people “DANGER” however it is not uncommon for that to be found exciting and erotic. This says to me that she has become his sex slave however. Even the bible writes about how women were created from a man’s rib in order to serve him. “The woman made of Adam’s rib was designed to be a “suitable helper” for Adam (Genesis 2:20).”
This use of sex in advertising is by no means the first of it’s kind. “Advertising, for almost as long as it has existed, has used some sort of sexual sell, sometimes promising seductive capacities, sometimes more simply attracting our attention with sexual stimuli, even if irrelevant to the product or the selling point.” An example would be how this picture can now be seen to advertise a lifestyle as well as clothing. It almost says: ‘if you buy our clothes, you too could have all of this! The beautiful women will want to sleep with you!’.

In all of this, however, one must consider that we assume each member in this photograph would have been a consenting adult. The man would not have been forced to hold the woman nor would the woman have been forced to strip down into her underwear. Some may argue that the photo could be empowering as the female is not ashamed of her body. The ethics surrounding this photo can have a bit of a blurred line as it is only a photo and therefore subject to unlimited different interpretations.

Cohan, J.A. Journal of Business Ethics (2001) 33: 323. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011862332426