The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has upheld a complaint about a Next advert in which a model looked “unhealthily thin.”

The watchdog has banned the advert, which promoted stretch denim leggings and was featured on the clothing retailer’s website.

The advert featured a model wearing the leggings sat on a wooden block and the model’s legs were extended closer to the camera.

Responding to the ASA’s investigation, Next said that its marketing aimed to be “authentic and responsible,” as it uses a variety of body types in its advertising. The retailer said it considered the model to have a healthy and toned physique whilst being slim.

Despite this, Next admitted that it had digitally altered the leggings in the advert, making them appear longer to “maintain focus on the product” while avoiding “any exaggeration of the model’s body shape.”

The ASA assessed the other images of the same model shown within the product listing, noting that the model’s positioning and the angle at which the photos were taken was different to the ad subject to investigation. It said that these differences had a visible impact on the appearance of the model’s body.

“We considered the model did not appear unhealthily thin in those images,” the ASA said. “Because the pose, camera angle and styling in the ad investigated strongly emphasised the slimness of the model’s legs, we considered that the ad gave the impression that the model was unhealthily thin.”

The ASA said it has told Next to ensure that their ads are prepared responsibly and do not portray models as being unhealthily thin.

Retail Systems has reached out to Next for comment.

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