Yves Saint Laurent ad used 'irresponsible' image of underweight model in ad
An advert for Yves Saint Laurent that appeared in Elle magazine has been banned for using an 'irresponsible' image of an underweight model.
The ad featured a black and white photograph of a woman lying on the floor with her hands on her head. She had her eyes closed and was wearing a short black dress, a leather jacket and high heels.
Yves Saint Laurent SAS said it did not agree with the complainant's view that the model was unhealthily thin, but did not provide a detailed response.
Elle stated it had no comment to make on the complaint.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said that the model’s pose and the lighting effect in the ad drew particular focus to the model’s chest, where her rib cage was visible and appeared prominent.
In added that the model's legs, particularly where "her thighs and knees appeared a similar width and looked very thin" meant the model appeared unhealthily underweight in the image.
The ad must not appear again in its current form. The ASA told the advertisers to ensure that the images in their ads were prepared responsibly.