Yves Saint Laurent ad banned for featuring 'unhealthily underweight' model

An Yves Saint Laurent ad has been banned
for featuring a model with a visible rib cage
and knees and thighs of a similar width, according to the Independent.
The ad, which appeared in Elle UK magazine,
featured a black-and-white photo of a
woman described by the Advertising
Standards Authority (ASA) as “unhealthily
underweight”, wearing a short black dress
and high heels and lying on the floor with
her eyes closed. A reader complained that the ad was irresponsible for using a model who
appeared to be unhealthily thin.

The ASA said YSL “indicated that they did not
agree with the complainant’s view that the
model was unhealthily thin” but did not
provide a detailed response. Elle UK told the
watchdog it had no comment. The ruling said: “We therefore considered that the model appeared unhealthily underweight in the image and concluded that the ad was irresponsible.”

The ASA ruled that the ad must not appear
again in its current form, adding: “We told
the advertisers to ensure that the images in
their ads were prepared responsibly.”
YSL declined to comment on the ruling.
Earlier this year, a campaign for the YSL
perfume Black Opium was cleared by the ASA
after complaints that it glamorised drug use.