Fashion retailer Warehouse has ad banned after advertising watchdog ruled the model it used was ‘unhealthily thin’
- The Advertising Standards Authority says biker jacket ad is irresponsible
- But Warehouse said it is insensitive to label the model as ‘unhealthy’ and ‘thin’
An advert by fashion retailer Warehouse has been banned as it used an ‘unhealthily thin’ model.
The Advertising Standards Authority said the image used for the chain’s longline biker jacket was irresponsible, breached codes for responsible advertising and must not appear again.
The picture appeared on the store’s website and showed a woman in a black bodysuit with her legs exposed and the jacket draped off one shoulder.
A single complainant challenged whether the ad should be shown. Warehouse disagreed saying she was a size 8 and that her BMI fell within the NHS‘s ‘healthy weight’ category.
Although they noted the concerns raised by the complainant, they did not consider using a naturally thin model in advertising to be socially irresponsible.
This advert by Warehouse was banned after it was deemed to portray an ‘unhealthily thin’ model, according to the ASA
Warehouse has now said it would be insensitive to label the model as promoting an ‘unhealthy’ and ‘thin’ body type
The retailer also noted that ‘due to prevailing standards in society around the perception of body types, it would be insensitive to label the model as promoting an “unhealthy” and “thin” body type.’
The ASA ruling continued: ‘Warehouse also said that they promoted body inclusivity and that they worked closely with model agencies to select models who represent women of all body types across the UK.
‘They said that models were styled in a manner which positively reflected their body shape and that they carefully selected imagery which represented both their products and models in the best possible way.
‘Warehouse said that they recognised the importance of how bodies were presented in ads and that edits to images were limited to lighting and background adjustments.’
However, the ASA upheld the complaint, saying: ‘The ASA acknowledged that much of the model’s arms and part of her body were obscured by a coat.
‘However, her shoulder and upper arm were visible and appeared small and narrow.
‘She was wearing a close-fitting bodysuit, also partially hidden by the coat, but her collar bone and torso nonetheless appeared very thin.
‘Her right leg was partially hidden by the coat and could not be seen in full, but we considered that the model’s pose and styling gave this leg, particularly her knee and thigh, the appearance of being very narrow.
The ASA said the advert did breach codes for responsible advertising and said it must not appear again
‘Although her left thigh was shown in full and positioned at a different angle, we considered that this pose made the indent in her hip bone appear particularly pronounced.
‘We therefore considered that both her legs were shown in a manner which made the model appear unhealthily thin.
‘We considered that the pose and styling of her legs emphasised her slimness in a manner which made her appear unhealthily thin.’
They went on to say that the advert did breach codes for responsible advertising and said it must not appear again.
‘We told Warehouse Fashions Online Ltd to ensure that the images in their ads were prepared responsibly and did not portray models as being unhealthily thin,’ the regulator added.
