April 11, 2016

Still images that appeared at the end of a video for the fashion brand Guccio Gucci SpA, seen on www.thetimes.co.uk on 15 December 2015, featured several models dancing to a soundtrack.  The final part of the ad featured several photos of individual models.  One image featured a woman leaning with her back to a wall wearing a long dress that covered her body from the neck down to her mid-calves including her arms.  Another featured a model who was sitting on a sofa wearing a high-necked jacket and a skirt that covered her down to her mid-thighs.

The ASA said that, while the seated model’s legs looked slim, they appeared to be generally in proportion with the rest of her body, which was not excessively slender or underweight – for example, her knee and ankle bones were not overly noticeable.  The ASA therefore considered that the model did not appear to be unhealthily thin.

By contrast, the ASA considered that the torso and arms of the leaning model 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 ASA also considered that her sombre facial expression and dark make up, particularly around her eyes, made her face look gaunt.  For those reasons, it considered that this model appeared to be unhealthily thin in the image, and therefore concluded that the ad was irresponsible.  The ad breached CAP Code rule 1.3 (Responsible advertising).  To read ASA Ruling on Guccio Gucci SpA (6 April 2016), click here.