The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned advertisements for Missguided and Boohoo because they were judged to be too sexualised and for objectifying women.
But the adverts which were outlawed by the ASA in October, were first aired at the height of summer – in June.
The Missguided commercial went out during the summer run of Love Island show. The ad promoted the swimwear line of the online brand. The models wearing skimpy bikinis were seen in provocative poses. The accompanying slogan was: “If you plan on wearing clothes this summer… we got you covered …kind of’’.
In its statement the ASA said: ”Because the ad objectified women, we concluded that it was irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence.” It cannot be shown again for commercial purposes.
The Boohoo advert was sent via email to subscribers. It showed a woman wearing Boohoo clothes (white dress, beige jacket and white shoes) with the controversial instruction to: “SEND NUDES”.
Boohoo claimed that the slogan was justified because the colour of the jacket matched the skin tone of the model. But the ASA maintained that the advert is “irresponsible’’ since customers under 18 could have seen the email and might have been prompted to send in nude pictures of themselves, leaving them vulnerable to predatory behaviour online. On these grounds the ASA banned further commercial use of the advert.
