Gucci ad banned for featuring too thin model

London - Gucci's latest video campaign for its ready-to-wear collection has been banned by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority.

The ad, which first featured on TheTimes.co.uk features a very thin woman leaning against a wall wearing a long printed dress. The photo accentuates her very thin, almost bony waist, and a gaunt, expressionless face.

In its ruling the ASA 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 make up, particularly around her eyes, made her face look gaunt."

Says Gucci: "The ad is aimed for an adult readership"

Guccio Gucci SpA stated the ads were part of a video that portrayed a dance party and was aimed at an older, sophisticated audience. They noted that the target population of The Times, where the ad appeared, had an adult and mature readership. They said it was, to some extent, a subjective issue as to whether a model looked unhealthily thin. which they considered was not the case for either of the women identified by the complainant.

This is not the first time a Gucci ad has been banned. Back in 2003 in the Tom Ford era, model Carmen Kass was photographed by Mario Testing exposing the letter ‘G’ shaved into her pubic hair. The ad was also banned in the UK by the ASA.

The Advertising Standards Authority is the UK’s independent regulator of advertising across all media. They apply the Advertising Codes, which are written by the Committees of Advertising Practice. Consumers can complain if they find ads offensive, which the ASA will subsequently investigate.

Image:Gucci