Background
Offensive Advertising: Grandbing Technology Co Ltd t/a On Fancy breaks UK advertising rules for the portrayal of children in a sexualised way in the advertising of clothing for children on the www.onfancy.co.uk website.
The ASA investigated an ad on the www.onfancy.co.uk website which featured a female child under the age of 18 modelling a swimsuit. The images in the ad were cropped so that the model’s face was only visible from the mouth downwards. The ASA considered that this, combined with the styling of the images, had the effect of portraying the model in a sexualised way. The ASA Council ruled that the ad was likely to cause serious or widespread offence and was irresponsible due to its sexualised nature.
The CAP Compliance team contacted Grandbing Technology Co Ltd about the ASA Investigation, and also drew the advertiser’s attention to an additional complaint about ads on the website with another model similarly portrayed and children’s swimwear described as “sexy” but, in the absence of an assurance to amend their website to comply with the Code, took the decision on 23 July 2024 to place their company details on this section of the ASA website. These details shall remain in place until such time as Grandbing Technology Co Ltd has removed or appropriately amended the claims on www.onfancy.co.uk to ensure compliance with the CAP Code.
