Protein World’s controversial “beach body ready” campaign has been cleared by the UK ad watchdog despite nearly 400 complaints it objectified women and was socially irresponsible.
The weight-loss ads featuring a bikini-clad model sparked a huge backlash over alleged “body-shaming” including a protest in London’s Hyde Park and a petition on Change.org that attracted more than 70,000 signatures.
The Advertising Standards Authority received 378 complaints on a range of issues including that the “very slim, toned” model under the controversial headline implied other body shapes were inferior, and that the image promoting a slimming product was socially irresponsible.
Protein World has maintained a combative and unapologetic stance over the campaign which continued in its submission to the ASA defending the ad.
The company said the ad invited viewers to consider if they were in the shape they wanted to be, and its ad did not imply that everyone should look like the model.
Protein World’s argument was backed up by the fact Exterion Media, the outdoor advertising company that ran the ads on its billboards and poster sites, had obtained advice from ASA offshoot the Committee for Advertising Practice before launch that the campaign was unlikely to break UK advertising rules.
The ASA said the term “beach body” carried connotations of a toned, athletic physique similar to the image of the model in the ad but also had a broader meaning of “feeling sufficiently comfortable and confident with one’s physical appearance to wear swimwear in a public environment”.
It said: “We considered the claim ‘Are you beach body ready?’ prompted readers to think about whether they were in the shape they wanted to be for the summer and we did not consider the accompanying image implied a different body shape to that shown was not good enough or was inferior.
“We concluded that the headline and image were unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.”
It added that while the central question invited readers to think about their figures, “we did not consider the image of the model would shame women who had different body shapes into believing they needed to take a slimming supplement to feel confident wearing swimwear in public”.
The ASA said the ad did not breach any UK rules relating to harm and offence or responsible advertising. It concluded: “For that reason, we concluded the ad was not irresponsible.”
However, the watchdog had already said the ad cannot run again after voicing concerns about the campaign’s health and weight loss claims.
Rebecca Field, a spokeswoman for eating disorders charity Beat, said: “We find the ruling from the ASA extremely disappointing and we would argue that the advert is irresponsible.
“While we recognise advertising and the media cannot cause eating disorders – they are much more complex than that – we are aware how toxic images can be to an individual.
“While continuing to promote a slender body image as the only one we should aspire to, the Protein World advert advertises diet products, only adding to the harmful effect it could have on those susceptible to an eating disorder.
“Every body is different and Beat will continue to campaign to see a wide variety of shapes and sizes represented in the media.”
Protein World’s head of global marketing Richard Staveley revealed the company received a bomb threat following the launch of the ad but said it had been “a brilliant campaign for us”.
The campaign made its US debut near New York’s Times Square last week, where it met a mixed reaction, including being defaced with “this oppresses women” stickers on the subway.
