Ad description
A paid-for Google ad for an online clothing retailer, seen on 24 July 2022, featured text stating “Hide-Fat-Dresses for Women. Snatch up the best Hide Fat Dresses at Up to 80% off” and an image of a slim woman wearing a yellow dress.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ad was offensive and irresponsible because they believed that by showing a slim model wearing what was described as a “fat dress” the ad projected and encouraged a negative body image.
Response
Hongkong Jigao Technology Co Ltd t/a Chic Me did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.Assessment
The ASA was concerned by Hongkong Jigao Technology Co Ltd’s lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.
Not upheld
The ASA considered that consumers would understand the description “hide-fat dress” to refer to the loose style of the dress, that clothing could affect the appearance of body shape and that the model’s body was used to illustrate the dress. We acknowledged that the model shown wearing the dress was slim. However, we considered consumers were unlikely to infer from the description of the dress that the model herself was overweight. We therefore considered that the ad did not project or encourage a negative body image.
For these reasons, while we acknowledged that some people might find the references to “hide-fat dress” distasteful, we concluded that the ad was not socially irresponsible and was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.
Action
No further action necessary.
