- Huw Hughes
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British fast-fashion brands Missguided and Boohoo have both had adverts
banned by the country’s advertising watchdog for being “highly sexualised”
and “socially irresponsible”.
A marketing email from Boohoo contained a photo of a female model
wearing a beige jacket with the words “Send nudes. Set the tone with new
season hues” written across the image. The Advertising Standards Authority
(ASA) received a complaint that the reference to “send nudes” was “socially
irresponsible.”
Boohoo said its the word “nude” was solely used to describe the colour
resembling that of the wearer’s skin and was a word widely used by other
retailers in relation to apparel. It also argued that to sign up to its
website customers must be at least 18 years of age and the ad was sent to
individuals who had agreed to Boohoo’s terms of use.
However, the ASA ruled that the phrase “send nudes” was likely to be
understood as referring to requests for sexual photos, which could be a
form of sexual harassment. It also noted that increased pressure to share
such photos had been linked to negative outcomes for young people. The
watchdog also said that despite Boohoo’s target market being aged 16 to 24
and despite the brand having an age requirement for its website, such
information was often misreported.
Separately, an online advert from Missguided showed young women on a
beach in “seductive poses” with one running her hand up her inner thigh and
another with a strawberry between her lips. The ASA received a complaint
that the advertisement was offensive and irresponsible from the way it
sexualised and objectified women.
Missguided argued that display of skin was “relevant, necessary and
unavoidable” considering the ad was promoting the summer wear collection
and that many shots also showed the models’ faces and were shot from below
to “empowering, confident young women.” The brand also argued that the ad
was not overly different to images you’d likely see on a beach in the
summer, and was also similar to the content of ITV’s Love Island, the show
before which the advert was shown.
However, the ASA ruled that many scenes were “highly sexualised”,
especially one with a model sprawled out over a bike which “presented her
as merely a decoration to the bike.”
Both complaints were upheld and the ASA ruled that they must not appear
again in their current forms.
Photo credit: Missguided, Facebook
