The world renowned brand Gucci recently made an ad in UK which has been banned because of featuring an “unhealthily thin” female model.

The ASA, Advertising Standards Authority, criticized the standing posture of model; along with the “dark make up” she is wearing, make her appearance “gaunt”. In its defence, Gucci explained that the image was targeted at a “sophisticated, older audience” and claimed the model was simply “slim and toned “. However ASA ruled the picture used for ad was “irresponsible”.

The ad appeared in December on The Times website. But presently, the brand has been commanded not to use the ad again unless it made the required changes.

According to the ASA, the arms and torso of female model were pretty slender and seemed to be disproportionate with her lower body and head. They further explained that her somber face expressions along with the dark make up she was wearing specifically near her eyes, had made her look skinny.

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“For these explanations, we came to the opinion that the female model sloping against the wall in the image seemed to be unhealthily thin, and hence decided that the advert was irresponsible.”

Campaigners are of the view that thin models can harm the confidence of girls and women by endorsing unhealthy and unrealistic body shapes.

The Italian fashion house in response to the investigation of ASA said they considered the model seemed healthy because the ad was not displaying any bones of that model. Her makeup was pretty natural and it was not heavy in any case. They further explained that there was enough lighting for ensuring no hollows made by shadows and the clothes worn by the models were not revealing.

Previous year, the French fashion label Yves Saint Laurent, was banned from advertising an image that displayed a model having extremely thin legs and visible ribs.

An advert made in May for Miu Miu, a label under the ownership of Prada, was banned by the ASA. According to ASA, the ad had improperly sexualized a model who seemed to be a kid.