An advert for a body contouring treatment has been banned for suggesting that slim people would benefit from weight loss.
The ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) ruled that the release was ‘irresponsible’ and ‘trivialised the procedure’.
The print ad for UK-based ABC Lasers, which appeared in Aesthetics Journal’s September 2017 edition, shows the mid-section of a slender woman wearing briefs, and pinching some flesh from her stomach.
The caption alongside reads: ‘If you can pinch it, we can treat it.’
An advert for a body contouring treatment by ABC lasers has been banned by the ASA for suggesting that slim people would benefit from weight loss (advert pictured)
The ad also features a box featuring a clock that reads ’20 minute body contouring’.
Following the release of the advert a reader, who believed the ad implied that the model needed to undergo body contouring despite being slim, complained that it was irresponsible.
Looking into the complaint, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) also challenged whether the ‘If you can pinch it, we can treat it’ claim, and found that the emphasis on speed trivialised the decision to undergo body contouring.
The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the release was ‘irresponsible’ and ‘trivialised the procedure’ (file image)
Speaking after the decision, the Aesthetics Journal said the publication was for healthcare professionals and other staff and industry representatives, and therefore would not put pressure on individuals to feel they needed to undergo body contouring.
However the ASA ruled that it was a concern if medical professionals passed the impression that body contouring could benefit people who were slim, or that the decision to undergo the procedure was one that could be made quickly.
The ASA said: ‘We considered the photograph, which showed the model’s pronounced hip bone and her briefs gaping away from her body because of the bone’s prominence, suggested that she was particularly slim.
A reader, who believed the ad implied that the model needed to undergo body contouring despite being slim, complained that it was irresponsible (file image)
‘We considered the image nevertheless suggested, because she was able to pinch flesh from her tummy between her thumb and forefinger, along with the text ‘If you can pinch it, we can treat it’, that she would still benefit from body contouring,’ they added.
‘We considered that the message that such slim people would benefit from weight loss treatment and the targeting of the ad towards those who were already slim was irresponsible.’
Concluding that the ad must not appear again, they ruled: ‘We told ABC Lasers to ensure their ads did not suggest that particularly slim people could benefit from body contouring or that the decision to undergo body contouring was one that could be taken lightly.’
Following the ruling ABC Lasers said the ad would be changed before they published it again.
‘We considered that the message that such slim people would benefit from weight loss treatment and the targeting of the ad towards those who were already slim was irresponsible.’ the ASA ruled (file image)