A TV advertisement that promotes breast enlargement has been banned for implying that a boob job will make young women more confident and popular.
The recently banned TV advert featured Sarah Ashcroft, a prominent fashion blogger in the UK. The 21-year-old has nearly 550,000 followers on Instagram and almost 30,000 on Twitter.
The ad was created for Transform, a cosmetic surgery company. In it, Ashcroft talked about the positive impact she has received following her breast enlargement procedure.
"I never really looked at any part of my body past my neck because it wasn't something I liked," Ashcroft said in the ad.
Ashcroft, who blogs at That Pommie Girl, talked about how she felt "like a new person" after the breast enlargement surgery. She recalled how everyone said her surgically enhanced breasts looked so natural.
In 2014, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) issued a warning to popular social media and YouTube personalities to be wary of how they promote the products they use online.
The ASA received a complaint about Transform's advert that described it as not just irresponsible but also harmful to girls below 18 years old.
The complainant added that Transform's TV ad exploited the insecurities of young women about their own bodies. Moreover, the ad implies that surgically enhanced breasts will make them not just confident but also more popular among their peers.
In defense, Transform said there are just some people who don't like cosmetic surgery itself. The company also said that Ashcroft represents many of today's responsible, independently minded, thoughtful, successful and sophisticated young women who choose to have cosmetic surgery.
The company added that the blogger's testimony in the advert could be "viewed with neutrality." This is because Ashcroft chose the company for her own personal reasons and moreover, she paid for the breast enhancement procedure before the company even reached out to her to do the TV advert.
Last but not the least, Transform said Ashcroft's testimony was not scripted. The company website features a page where Ashcroft's before and after photos were uploaded. In the description, Transform boasted that their collaboration with the blogger racked up more than 250,000 YouTube video views.
The ASA said it is concerned that the focus on Ashcroft's negative views about her body prior to the breast enlargement surgery could encourage people, especially teenage girls, to focus on their own body insecurities.
The ASA ruled to ban the Transform TV advert for breaking the advertising code, which covers social responsibility, offense and harm.
