AT first it was clever, attention-grabbing and perhaps even sexy - but shock advertising is about to hit a new low.
An explicit Lolita-style campaign for Lee Jeans has come under fire for glamorising child pornography in a cynical bid to manufacture controversy and attract publicity.
To promote its latest clothing range, the denim giant spent an estimated $200,000 hiring controversial US photographer and former heroin addict Terry Richardson to take provocative shots of a girl in sexual positions.
The shots will feature in eight fashion magazines and on a billboards in Sydney's Taylor Square.
Advocacy group Youth Media Australia condemned the "disturbing" campaign.
YMA president Jane Roberts said: "What (Lee) is trying to do is create controversy to sell jeans -- but this is a very poor outcome for society".
Ms Roberts said it was ironic the images had emerged during National Child Protection week.
Lee's campaign is the latest example of "manufactured controversy", where advertisers provoke a reaction from consumers.
Others include Windsor Smith's use of sexy ads to sell men's shoes.