Most people don’t associate the word “fashion” with “that one boyfriend in college who made lots of bathroom jokes.” British department store Harvey Nichols, however, decided to ignore the fact and to have a bit of unorthodox fun with a new ad. But are they being clever or just crass?

The store recently sent out a new flyer to patrons, notifying them of an upcoming sale. Nothing too crazy there. But in the ad is a woman who appears to have peed her pants, presumably in excitement over the event. While a spokesperson for the company called the flyer “light-hearted and humorous,” some customers are reacting negatively. Tweets about it have ranged from, “That absolutely does not make me the slightest bit inclined to shop there!” all the way to, “We received this in the post, hideous! It makes me think of their sale goods as being soiled :( .”

Harvey Nichols, who carried a line of Victoria Beckham’s designs and touts Kate Middleton as a patron, doesn’t seem to think this bit of humor will affect sales. And it really is unlikely that people will actually think their clothes are soiled. But was this a classy flyer to run? [via Fashionista]

What do you think of this ad? Is it too crude?