Britain’s advertising watchdog has banned a magazine ad promoting French fashion house Saint Laurent because the model featured was “unhealthily thin”.
The black and white photograph, showing the model lying on her back on the ground in a short skirt, tights and platform heels, was deemed “irresponsible” by the Advertising Standards Authority.
It said the pose and lighting drew particular focus to the model’s chest, “where her rib cage was visible and appeared prominent”, and to her legs, “where her thighs and knees appeared a similar width, and which looked very thin.”
“We therefore considered that the model appeared unhealthily underweight in the image and concluded that the ad was irresponsible,” the ruling said.
The ASA intervened following a complaint after the advertisement appeared in Elle magazine.
2015-06-03