Banned image: The model featured in the Gucci advert, pictured, appears 'gaunt' and 'unhealthily thin'

Advert watchdog rules Gucci  'irresponsible'

... 'gaunt' model is 'unhealthily thin'

Gucci advert features woman standing against a wall in long, printed dress
Viewer complained after seeing the image, saying model appeared too thin
Watchdog agreed, ruling the model looked ‘gaunt’ and ‘unhealthily thin’
Told the Italian fashion house the advert cannot appear in its current form.
An advert for luxury fashion house Gucci has been banned for featuring a ‘gaunt’ model who appears ‘unhealthily thin’.
The woman was featured in a short video advert for the Italian brand’s Cruise 2016 collection, which saw models dancing around a room. She also appeared in a still image at the end of the clip.
One viewer complained to the advertising watchdog after seeing the advert on The Times website in December last year, claiming the still images showcased models who were ‘unhealthily thin’.
Gucci denied this was the case but the Advertising Standards Authority has now upheld the complaint and ruled the advert must not appear again in its current form.
Banned image: The model featured in the Gucci advert, pictured, appears ‘gaunt’ and ‘unhealthily thin’
The photograph in question was one of two stills that appeared at the end of a video advert. The other showed another female model sitting on a sofa.The ASA found the model standing up appeared ‘unhealthily thin’ and ‘gaunt’, and that the advert breached the rules on responsible advertising as set out in the code.The ruling states: ‘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 make up, 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.’

Questioned: The image was one of two that appeared at the end of a Gucci video advert on The Times website

The Italian fashion house told the ASA the ads were part of a video portraying a dance party and were aimed at an older, sophisticated audience, in keeping with The Times’s readership.
It added that it did not feel the model appeared unhealthily thin but ‘toned and slim’, because ‘nowhere in the ads were any models’ ‘bones’ visible, their make-up was natural rather than heavy … lighting was uniform and warm to ensure there were no hollows caused by shadows and their clothes were not revealing’.
The ad must not appear again in its current form, the fashion brand was told

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