A TV ad showing women using a corset to squeeze their waists to a “sexy, tiny” size has been banned for being irresponsible.

The Shop Channel UK ran an infomercial promoting the Velform Mini Waist that showed women using the product with a presenter stating: “Have you ever wondered how celebrities get those tiny little waists they flaunt on the red carpet?”

The ad, which showed women using the compression garment to make their waists look extremely small, promised that the product was the “secret to getting that sexy, tiny waist, so small that you’ll be everyone’s envy”.

The Advertising Standards Authority received a complaint that the ad encouraged unhealthy body perceptions and that it was irresponsible and harmful.

Chromotion, which trades as The Shop Channel UK, said that its product was a temporary way to “achieve a slimming effect” and that the commercial did not specify any specific levels of tightness to use the product.

The ASA, which was concerned about shots that showed women using the product to make their waists “extremely small”, said that the ad implied that a very small waist was desirable and should be aspired to by women.

“We considered it was irresponsible to imply that a very small waist should be aspired to and that all women should aim for that figure,” said the ASA. “We were concerned that in some shots the women were shown compressing their waists to appear extremely small and that, particularly in the context of the aforementioned claims, this added to the impression that women should aspire to very small waists. Overall, we concluded that the ad encouraged unhealthy body perceptions and was therefore irresponsible.”

The ASA said that the ad broke the UK code relating to social responsibility and must not appear again.

The watchdog told the advertiser not to imply that all women should aspire to a certain figure and to take care when demonstrating the use of the product.