Veet's 'Don't Risk Dudeness' Campaign Sparks Outrage, Claiming Women With Body Hair Are Basically Men

Julia Roberts was a fan of letting her hair grow and even Madonna has sported the odd armpit garden.

But a controversial new advertising campaign reckons women who go for the natural look might as well be men. Charming!

Hair removal specialists Veet have taken the line for their latest series of viral ads - which not surprising have got people in bit of a fluster.

The campaign, which they've called 'Don't Risk Dudeness', warns women about the pitfalls of going a few days without shaving their legs, armpits and - other more hidden areas of their body.

Having premiered on Monday in America, the adverts show a sequence of scenarios in which women turn into a large, furry 'dude' after a day without hair removal.

In one scene, a woman hailing a taxi is met with a shocked expression from the driver, as it turns out he thinks he's looking at a hairy man in a frilly green dress.

In another, a woman in an ambulance cries out: "please, not the panties!" as she risks revealing her lack of grooming below the belt.

Veet, who are plugging their latest range of waxing products, claim to be helping their customers to "feel womanly around the clock" - the implication being that womanliness is akin to hairlessness.

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After the first Veet advert aired on Monday, commenters took to social networking platforms Reddit, Facebook and beyond, to question the message offered by the famous brand.

The below by Nimahan made us chuckle in particular, whilst raising a very good point.

The "Don't Risk Dudeness" campaign happens to have surfaced at exactly the same time as a fresh wave of protests about the pressure that women are under to conform to unnatural standards of beauty.

London-based photographer Ben Hopper has just this week released a selection of portraits from his "Natural Beauty" project, which aims to promote the allure of a woman in her natural state.

The photographs show an array of models, actresses, designers and Hopper's friends with clearly visible armpit hair, focusing on the fact that hair removal is not essential to a woman's attraction.

Speaking to the Huffington Post, Hopper said of the project: "The whole point is the contrast between fashionable female beauty and the raw unconventional look of armpit hair. I expect [the photos] will surprise a lot of people and I guess, in a way, that is one of my intentions."

What do you think? Are women just as beautiful in their natural, hairy state? Answer us on Twitter.