Babyliss Boutique has been cleared by the Advertising Standards Authority of employing an anorexic model in a TV hairdryer ad following complaints from viewers.
The commercial featured model Ellie Graham from the waist up blow-drying her hair but her slight figure elicited complaints from some that the firm was promoting an unhealthy body image.
In response however commercial advertising body Clearcast said that it did not believe Graham looked underweight and that the focus of the ad was to promote her hair, not her body.
The ASA concurred with this view saying in their adjudication: “…the ad was for a styling product that focused mainly on the model's hair and included short views of the model's upper body to portray an overall effect. We acknowledged that it was not an ad which featured a product that could modify body size or promoted a desirable body type.
“We noted from the shots of her upper body viewers could see that the model had a tall, slender body shape which did not feature symptoms of excessive weight loss. Because the ad did not promote an ideal body image or use an underweight model, we concluded that the ad was not irresponsible.”