A Marks and Spencer advert has been banned after it showed a model looking “unhealthily thin”.
The UK’s advertising watchdog decided the advert has to come down after it featuring a model who appeared to be "unhealthily thin", labelling it as “irresponsible”.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) made the call over the still image, which appeared on its mobile app, to promote clothing.
It has since been removed.
Here is everything we know about the incident:
Why was the advert banned?
The ASA noted the model, who in the picture was wearing straight leg and slim fit trousers and a white top, "appeared thin and she wore large pointed shoes which emphasised the slenderness of her legs".
The ruling said the camera angle used for the picture also did not help matters and it distorted the model’s head, making it “appear out of proportion” and “highlighted her small frame.”
They said in a statement: “Therefore, we considered that the pose of the model and the choice of clothing meant the ad gave the impression that the model was unhealthily thin.
Three more images were reported to the ASA by consumers, but the watchdog said that having looked at them in depth, they believed there was no breach and did not ban them.
What have M&S said?
The company have apologised for any offence caused, but say they do their best to represent a wide breadth of body types, shapes and sizes on their website images normally.
A spokeswoman said: “Our womenswear sizing ranges from size 8 to 24 and we always want to reflect that in our advertising.
“The product images on our website feature models of varying sizes so we can appeal to all our customers, however following the ASA guidance, we have removed this particular image from our website and apologise for any offence caused.”
What are some other high profile banned adverts?
In February, an ad for the high street retailer Next was also banned by the ASA for using an “unhealthily thin” model.
The ad, a product listing for denim leggings on the Next website, was deemed “irresponsible”.
The ASA said the retailer had used specific styling and a particular camera angle and pose to highlight the slimness of the model’s legs.
In 2022, Tesco Mobile got a slap on the wrist for some close to the mark marketing.
Three Tesco Mobile adverts were banned by the ASA for alluding to ‘offensive expletives’ when they joked about the annoyance some customers may feel when mobile phone providers up their monthly bill prices.
One advertisement stated “What a load of shiitake”, while another said, “They’re taking the pistachio”. A third exclaimed, “For fettuccine’s sake”, but they were quickly pulled after 52 people complained to the ASA.
On another clothing occasion, a PrettyLittleThing ad was banned for using “sexually suggestive images” of a 16-year-old famous face.
Brand ambassador Alabama Barker – who is the daughter of drummer Travis Barker and the step-daughter of Kourtney Kardashian – featured on the retailer’s website posing in tight-fitting, revealing clothing, but not for long.
The images of the teen in the barely there clothes were posted alongside the caption: “Channel that teen dream realness with barely-there micro mini skirts.”
It was banned for being inappropriate shortly after making its debut.
A live dissection company also came under fire for using a serial killer’s face in their Father’s Day promotion material.
The email ad for The Vivit Experience, produced by ITAE Productions, was titled ‘She’s Under The Patio’ and included a picture of the killer, who murdered his own daughter among others.
The ad stated: “This week we take a look at the fathers famous for all the wrong reasons… Fred West became known in the 1990s when it was revealed him and his wife, Rosemary, were involved in 12 murders of young women in Gloucester.”
“One of their victims was their own daughter… when she was missing they would often joke of her being ‘buried under the patio’. Take 10% off this Fathers Day.”
The advert was pulled rather quickly after the ASA got involved.
