A Gucci ad depicting models dancing at a house party has been banned in the UK.
The ad, which features models dancing at a house party with vacant expressions, was banned by the Advertising Standards Agency as one of the models was deemed “unhealthily thin”.
The video ad first ran on The Times’ website, along with some still images which depicted the model in question leaning against a wall with a sombre expression and dark eye makeup.
After someone filed a formal complaint against the ad, the ASA released the following statement agreeing that the ad went against regulations.
They said:
“We considered that her torso and arms 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.
“We also considered that her sombre facial expression and dark makeup, particularly around her eyes, made her face look gaunt.
“For those reasons, we considered that the model leaning against the wall appeared to be unhealthily thin in the image, and therefore concluded that the ad was irresponsible.”
However, Gucci did not agree, arguing that the model was “toned and slim”.
They said: “Nowhere in the ads were any models’ bones visible, [and] their makeup was natural rather than heavy.”
Nevertheless the brand have been told not to run the ad in its current form.
Video via YouTube/GUCCI
