Background
Update to Advertising Codes (7 April 2025):
On 7 April 2025, the Advertising Codes were updated to reflect the revocation and restatement of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (“CPRs” – the legislation from which the majority of the CAP and BCAP rules on misleading advertising derived) by the Unfair Commercial Practices provisions in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (“DMCCA”). On that date, the wording of a number of the rules in the Advertising Codes was changed to reflect relevant changes introduced by the DMCCA on 6 April 2025.
Given that the complaint that formed the subject of this ruling were received before 7 April 2025, the ASA considered the ad and complaint under the wording of the rules that existed prior to 7 April 2025, and the Ruling (and references to rules within it) should therefore be read in line with this wording, available here – CAP Code and BCAP Code.
Ad description
A website for Belle Baby, www.bellebaby.co.uk, a retailer of baby products seen on 22 December 2024, listed a “Cupcake Swimsuit” for sale. The ad contained an image of a young girl wearing the swimsuit, popping her hip to one side and looking down at a bow on the side of the swimsuit.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ad portrayed a child in a sexual way.
Response
Belle Baby Ltd said they had removed the image from their website.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications must not portray or represent anyone who was, or seemed to be, under 18 years of age in a sexual way.
The girl was aged around five or six years. She appeared to be wearing eye shadow, heavy mascara and lipstick and had her long hair styled in curls. She was standing in a pose in which her hip was popped to one side, her back was arched and her eyes were downcast to look at a bow sewn on to the hip of her swimsuit, which she was also holding with one hand. We considered the pose and styling would be typically associated with older models, rather than being the natural posture or pose of a child.
Although the swimsuit she was wearing was appropriate and intended for a child of her age, and the ASA acknowledged that young children typically enjoyed dressing up and looking older, we nevertheless considered that the combination of her styled hair and heavy make-up, her downward and submissive-looking glance and the way her hip was popped to one side had the effect of portraying her in a sexual way.
We therefore concluded that it breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 4.8 (Harm and offence).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We welcomed Belle Baby Ltd’s decision to withdraw the ad. We told them to ensure their future ads did not include images that portrayed anyone under 18 in a sexual way.
