The titillation of being by the sea

The late and not so great Robert Maxwell once said the Daily Mirror’s topless model page could be classified as “art” because nipples were – occasionally – covered up.

Surprisingly enough, he provoked a feminist outcry. But this was nothing compared to a bust-up in Skegness, Lincolnshire, in reaction to a logo designed for a holiday resort.

Two years ago, Mablethorpe resort’s in-house designer Maria Vincent created a charming mermaid astride a jolly dolphin. But she made a bit of a boob – she gave the mermaid rather prominent nipples, to the horror of holidaymakers.

“We decided to remove the nipples, as people said they went against a family holiday image,” says Mablethorpe’s leisure head Bob Suich.

As a result, Mablethorpe’s 1995 literature featured a nipple-less mermaid. “We said she was wearing vanishing cream,” says Suich.

But there wasn’t much tittering among locals. “They kept saying ‘bring ’em back’. They like their nipples,” says Suich.

He eventually asked Vincent to replace the offending items – and Mablethorpe’s 1996 literature will once again show the mermaid doing her best to keep fully abreast of the waves.

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