UK fashion retail giant Next has had one of its ads banned after complaints over its ‘unhealthily thin’ model. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint about advert that digitally altered clothing and used low angle to accentuate her long legs.
The ad, which has been removed, ran on its website featured a model showing Next’s ‘power stretch denim leggings’. However the complaint centred on the model’s “unhealthily thin” appearance, calling Next’s marketing of the look “irresponsible”.
But Next said its aim was to market the product in a way that was “authentic and responsible” and that it used models “ranging from slim to plus size”.
The company argued the model’s proportions were “balanced”, particularly considering she was quite tall (5ft 9in/175cm), and stressed it had not digitally retouched her appearance.
However, Next did admit it had digitally altered the image of the leggings to make them look longer to “maintain focus on the product while avoiding any exaggeration of her body shape”.
In its investigation, the ASA said the model’s face did not appear to be “gaunt” and that while her arms were slim they did not “display any protruding bones”.
The body said the shot had been set up at a low angle that “accentuated the models already tall physique [and] further emphasised the slimness of the model’s legs”.
It concluded: “We concluded that the ad was irresponsible. The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Next to ensure that the images in their ads were prepared responsibly and did not portray models as being unhealthily thin.”
