Ad description
A paid-for Facebook ad, for Naked Wolfe, a clothing retailer, seen in September 2023, featured a female model dressed in a short black skirt, a black cropped top and platform soled black sandals. She was pictured sitting on the floor against a white background.
Issue
Three complainants, who believed the model appeared unhealthily thin, challenged whether the ad was irresponsible.
Response
Naked Wolfe Ltd did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.
Facebook acknowledged the complaints and said they would await the outcome of the investigation.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA was concerned by Naked Wolfe Ltd’s lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.
The model was featured sitting on the floor with her left leg crossed over and her right pointed at the camera. Whilst it was not possible to see the model’s whole left leg, we considered the model’s lower legs appeared to be thin, and that was particularly emphasised by her thick, black shoes. Furthermore, the model was seen leaning forward, and we considered that position, which created shadow across the model’s waist, accentuated its slimness. Additionally, we considered the styling of the model, in a crop top and high-waisted skirt, drew particular attention to her exposed midriff, which further emphasised her narrow waist. We also considered the model’s position, leaning forward with her head towards the camera, made her head appear larger than the rest of her body, in a manner which made her appear unhealthily thin.
Because the pose and styling strongly emphasised the slimness of the model’s legs and waist we considered the ad gave the impression that the model was unhealthily thin and concluded the ad was irresponsible.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.3 (Responsible advertising).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Naked Wolfe Ltd to ensure that the images in their ads were prepared responsibly and did not portray their models as being unhealthily thin. We referred the matter to CAP’s Compliance team.
