Living Bras

Bra makers have long chafed under the advertising restrictions imposed by the National Association of Broadcasters Code Authority, which must approve all television commercials. The Code Authority decrees that a live model in a bra commercial must be fully clothed and if a mannequin is used, it must be headless or armless--preferably both. In an era of explicitness--and occasionally bralessness--some bra makers are eager to push the product beyond a plastic torso or levitating apparition. Lately they have been pressing the code to its literal limit, with some strange results.

A new commercial for Playtex Living Bras opens with the announcement: "And now--introducing a new way of living in comfort." It certainly is. Striding on to the home screen is a fully clothed model, smiling serenely--and wearing her bra over her dress. An ad for Maidenform uses boards painted with a series of life-size figures; the figures have bras--but no heads. A live model pops from figure to figure while making the sales appeal. Her pitch: "Maidenform's Rated X bra makes you look beautiful."

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