ASA Ruling on MNG-Mmango UK Ltd
A December 2023 product listing for a MANGO short sleeve sweater featured a model wearing the sweater with their arms by the sides. The complainant, who believed the model appeared unhealthily thin, challenged whether the ad was irresponsible. The ASA considered that the model’s upper body and hips appeared to be very narrow and there were gaps between her arms and body, accentuating her slender frame. Both of the model’s arms, visible from above the elbow, were very thin, and her upper arms appeared noticeably thinner above her protruding elbow joints. Because the model appeared to be unhealthily thin and MANGO did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries, the ASA concluded that the ad was irresponsible, and breached the CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 1.3 (Responsible advertising) and 1.7 (Unreasonable delay). The ASA held that the ad must not appear in its current form and it told MANGO to ensure that the images in their ads were prepared responsibly and did not portray models as being unhealthily thin.
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