An advert for the fashion label Yves Saint Laurent has been banned for using an “unhealthily underweight” model.
The ad, which appeared in Elle magazine in the UK, showed the model lying on the floor with her hands behind her head.
The Advertising Standards Authority said it had received a complaint that the model appeared unhealthily thin.
In a ruling on Wednesday, the ASA upheld the complaint and concluded that the advert was irresponsible.
The watchdog said in a statement:
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.
The ASA said Yves Saint Laurent did not agree with the complaint but had not provided a detailed response.
The watchdog ruled that the ad must not appear again in its current form.