The Advertising Standards Authority, ASA, has banned an advert because it featured an ‘unhealthily thin’ model.
The ban on the Saint Laurent’s ad which featured an 18-year-old model Kiki Willems was stirred after a consumer spotted the ad in Elle UK magazine and complained to ASA.
The authorities of ASA concluded on Wednesday, May 27, 2015 that the ad may not appear again in its current form, and detailed its concern with the model’s appearance.
The ad shows the model sprawled on the floor with her chest exposed and legs shadowed in a way that accentuates her already slim figure which seems unnaturally skinny.
It became a concern because of the particular focus to the model’s chest, where her rib cage was visible and appeared prominent as well as her legs, since her thighs and knees appeared a similar width.
This thinness is emphasized further by her chunky platform shoes, and after consideration of these factors together, the ASA ruled that Willems appears “unhealthily underweight” in the ads, therefore making them irresponsible
In a statement, ASA said, “The ASA considered that the model’s pose and the particular lighting effect in the ad 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, particularly in light of her positioning and the contrast between the narrowness of her legs and her platform shoes.
“We therefore considered that the model appeared unhealthily underweight in the image and concluded that the ad was irresponsible.”
