Gucci ad banned for featuring an "unhealthy thin" model

A Gucci ad has been banned for featuring an "unhealthily thin" model. The Advertising Standards Authority told the Italian fashion brand to make sure it used responsible images of models in its future ad campaign. Gucci ran an online video ad featuring a number of models dancing to a soundtrack. The final part of the ad, which ran on the Times website in December, featured still photos of the individual models.

The fashion company said the ad was aimed at an “older, sophisticated” audience and that the Times website was used as it provided an “adult and mature” readership. The Advertising Standards Authority received a complaint that the ad was irresponsible because the models were unhealthily thin.

Guccio Gucci, the parent company of the fashion brand, and the Times said that that the idea of an unhealthily thin model was to some extent a “subjective issue” The fashion company said that the models had “slim builds” but were not depicted as “unhealthily thin”.

The images were shot to make sure none of the models’ bones were visible, which would accentuate thinness, and light rather than heavy makeup was used to stop the potential accentuation of thinness in features.

The ASA disagreed, saying that the ad irresponsibly showed a model with a body that was disproportionate and overly thin.

"Further, her pose elongated her torso and accentuated her waist so that it appeared to be very small," added the ASA.  "We also considered that her sombre facial expression and dark makeup, particularly around her eyes, made her face look gaunt. For those reasons, we considered that the model leaning against the wall appeared to be unhealthily thin in the image, and therefore concluded that the ad was irresponsible."

The ASA told the Italian fashion company to make sure it used responsible images of models in its future ad campaigns.

Source: the Guardian, ASA