Advertising supervision steps on
Zara advertising for “unhealthy thin” models banned in Great Britain
The British advertising supervision punishes the fashion chain Zara. Photos on its website should show models that should be too thin. Zara gives.
Two advertisements from the fashion brand Zara were banned in the United Kingdom because they showed models that looked “unhealthy”.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), a non-state organization of the British advertising industry, explained that shadows and a smoothly combed hairstyle make a model appear “emaciated”. In another picture, the pose and the deep neckline of a shirt would have emphasized the “protruding” flies of the model. The broadcaster and the newspaper reported about it.
There was a complaint against four product photos that appeared on the Zara homepage in May. The four photos showed a total of two models. From the organization’s point of view, two of the photos are harmless because the models do not appear “unhealthy”.
Two Zara models looked “unhealthy and thin” in photos
The ASA disagreed with the other two photos. In a photo, the image design in conjunction with the deeply cut shirt directs attention to the motorus of the model, which can be seen in one of the harmless photos. The arm posture in the wide shirt made the arms, shoulders and chest appear very slim. Overall, pose and clothing gave the impression that the model was “unhealthy”.
In the second photo, the ASA explains that shadows over the legs make them appear thinner. The hair that was put back made the head leaner, and the collarbone protruded significantly. “For these reasons, we believed that styling, the lighting of the image and the choice of clothing gave the impression that the model was unhealthy.”
The ASA came to the conclusion that the ads were irresponsible and violated the advertising code. The supervisory authority decided that the advertised ads must not appear again. As the BBC reports, Zara must ensure that all images are “managed responsibly”. Zara confirmed that the company changed the product descriptions and removed the pictures after the complaint.
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Zara not the first company that is complained about
However, Zara explained to the ASA that the images were only slightly processed in lighting and coloring. Both models had worked for renowned brands and owned medical certificates about their health. The company follows the recommendations of the “Fashioning A Healthy Future” report from 2007.
A spokesman for Zara UK told the “Independent”: “We commit ourselves to responsible content and follow strict guidelines and controls in the selection and photography of models as well as the selection of the images.”
According to the BBC, it is not the first time that companies were reprimanded due to “unhealthy thin” models: in July an advertisement by Marks & Spencer was banned, one of Next at the beginning of the year.
RW
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
