This ad has been banned because the model was 'too thin.'

How did this ad ever get approved?

This little ad has sparked one massive controversy.

The ad for fashion giant Yves Saint Laurent has been banned by the UK’s advertising watchdog for featuring an “unhealthily underweight” model.

Following a complaint that the model was too thin, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority found the ad – which appeared in Elle magazine – was irresponsible and banned it from reappearing in its current form.

Related: Why you won’t see these models on a French runway ever again.

The ad features a black and white image of a woman lying in a short black dress, with part of her chest and most of her long, thin legs visible.

The ASA said in its ruling:

“The ASA considered that the model’s pose and the particular lighting effect in the ad drew particular focus to the model’s chest, where her rib cage was visible and appeared prominent, and to her legs, where her thighs and knees appeared a similar width, and which looked very thin, particularly in light of her positioning and the contrast between the narrowness of her legs and her platform shoes.

We therefore considered that the model appeared unhealthily underweight in the image and concluded that the ad was irresponsible.”

Yves Saint Laurent did not agree that the model was unhealthily thin and Elle made no comment about the complaint, according to the ruling.

“We told the advertisers to ensure that the images in their ads were prepared responsibly,” the ASA says.

The move is encouraging, especially following the French government’s new laws banning the use of catwalk fashion models deemed to be excessively thin.

Let’s hope this decisive stance will encourage more responsible advertising.

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