The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a British advertisement by the brand Gucci for using an “unhealthily thin” model.
The video ad for the Italian fashion brand features several models dancing to music. It concludes with the couture-wearing stars posing on couches and leaning against a wall. While the ASA received complaints about two images of two different models, only one (the image featured above) was deemed irresponsible.
READ MORE: Scandal star Kerry Washington ‘taken back’ by Adweek Magazine cover
In their ruling, the ASA said:
“We considered that her torso and arms were quite slender and appeared to be out of proportion with her head and lower body. Further, her pose elongated her torso and accentuated her waist so that it appeared to be very small.”
The model’s facial expression and dark makeup were also evaluated; the latter was found to make her look “gaunt.”
Officials went on to tell the Italian fashion brand to use responsible imagery of models in its future ad campaigns.
For their part, Gucci defended the shoot saying the shots were part of a video that was aimed at an “older, sophisticated audience.” The company noted that the ad appeared in The Times which has an “adult and mature readership.”
Brand officials also stated the images were shot in a way that ensured the model’s “bones” would not be visible.
READ MORE: Amy Schumer calls out Glamour for saying she’s ‘plus size’
This isn’t the first fashion advertisement the ASA has criticized for featuring thin models. In 2015, an Yves Saint Laurent campaign that appeared in ELLE magazine was banned by U.K.’s advertising watchdog for using a model who appeared “unhealthily underweight.”
That same year, the French government approved a law to ban the use of catwalk models deemed to be excessively thin. Catwalk stars now need to have a Body Mass Index above a certain level, or they could face fines and up to six months in jail.
Comments