Ad description
An email for Jaded London, a clothing brand, seen on 27 May 2026, featured an image of a model standing by a scooter next to a body of water. The model was shown wearing a pink backless mini dress with her back to the camera and a lit cigarette in her left hand.
Issue
The complainant, who believed the ad glamorised smoking, challenged whether it was irresponsible.
Response
Jaded London Ltd believed it was not clear whether the model was holding a cigarette because it appeared to be slimmer than a typical cigarette, and smoke was not visible in the image. They also said that, if viewers understood the object to be a cigarette, it did not appear to be lit as smoke could not be seen coming from the cigarette or the model’s mouth. They did not believe that the cigarette was the focus of the ad because it was less prominent than other elements of the image, such as the model’s clothing and accessories. They said they understood why it was best to avoid images of models holding cigarettes and confirmed they would not use smoking content in future ads.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society.
The ad depicted a young woman in fashionable clothing and accessories standing in front of a scooter next to a body of water, which the ASA considered evoked an aspirational holiday lifestyle. She was holding a slim cigarette with visible ash at the tip, and we considered that suggested it was lit. We considered that the image was heavily stylised and presented the model in a fashionable and attractive manner. By associating this image with smoking, we considered that the ad had the effect of portraying smoking as appealing and therefore irresponsibly glamorised it.
While we welcomed Jaded London’s assurance that they would not use smoking content in future, we concluded that the ad was irresponsible and breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.3 (Social Responsibility).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained about. We told Jaded London Ltd to ensure that their future marketing communications were socially responsible and did not glamorise smoking.
