An online advert for fashion retailer Warehouse has been pulled by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) for featuring a model which it deemed appeared “unhealthily thin”.
The image – which must not be shown in the UK again in its current form – was initially used earlier this year as part of a product listing for an oversized longline biker jacket on the Warehouse website.
The complainant, who believed the featured model appeared to be “unhealthily thin”, said the ad was “irresponsible” for using the photograph.
Warehouse hit back against the complaint, saying that the model wore a UK size 8 and had a BMI which fell within the NHS standard of a “healthy weight”. The retailer said it would be wrong to suggest that the image presented her in an irresponsible manner.
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Although Warehouse noted the concerns raised, it pointed out that because the model was naturally thin, it believed that using the image in its advertising was not socially irresponsible. It also added that – due to societal developments surrounding body positivity – it would be insensitive to label the model as promoting an “unhealthy” and “thin” body type.
The retailer also said that it promoted body inclusivity and used models to represent women of all body types. Warehouse also said it recognised the importance of how bodies were presented in ads and that edits to images were limited to lighting and background adjustments.
Despite this, the complaint was upheld, with the ad deemed to breach CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.3 (responsible advertising).
The ASA acknowledged that the way the model was posing meant that much of her body was hidden by the clothing. However, the parts of her which remained visible – including collar bone and torso – appeared “small and narrow”, with a “particularly pronounced” hip bone.
“Because the pose and styling emphasised the model’s narrow leg, pronounced hip and collarbones, we considered the ad gave the impression that the model was unhealthily thin and concluded the ad was irresponsible,” it said.
As a result, Warehouse must not run the ad again in its current form and has been told it must ensure the images in its ads are responsible and do not portray models as being unhealthily thin.
