Overview

• The Advertising Standards Authority ruled two Zara adverts on its UK site breach the code by using lighting, poses and clothing that made models appear unhealthily thin.
• Zara has removed the contested images, revised product descriptions and pledged to follow the UK’s model health guidelines established in 2007.
• Under ASA rules, the visual impact on audiences determines compliance rather than the models’ actual health status.
• Earlier this year, the watchdog similarly banned Marks & Spencer and Next ads for promoting extreme slimness.
• Zara asserts both models held medical certificates confirming their fitness and that the images were only minimally edited.