The UK’s advertising watchdog has prohibited two adverts from the Spanish fashion brand Zara after ruling that the models featured appeared ‘unhealthily thin’ and that the imagery was ‘irresponsible’.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) acted following a complaint concerning the ads, which were published on Zara’s website in May.
In one of Zara’s images, the model’s collarbones were described as ‘protruding’, and her pose and styling contributed to an appearance that was ‘very slim’.
A second image showed a model who looked ‘slightly gaunt’, with a slicked-back hairstyle, with lighting and clothing that made her seem ‘noticeably thin’, the ASA noted.
The authority concluded that the advertisements violated standards around social responsibility and ordered that they must not be used again in the same format.
The two banned adverts previously appeared on the retailer’s app and website in a carousel of images showing clothes on and off models.
ASA said that it followed recommendations of a report called Fashioning a Healthy Future, which was published in 2007 by the UK Model Health Inquiry.
Zara responded by stating that it specifically complied with recommendation three of that report which said models ‘should provide a medical certificate attesting their good health from doctors with expertise in recognising eating disorders’.
The company also said that only minimal edits were made to the lighting and colour in the images.
According to a statement from Zara, the adverts were taken down after the company was informed of the complaint. It also stressed that it ‘follows stringent guidelines and controls in the selection and photographing of models’.
Zara also said it had not received any direct complaints.
Earlier in the year, the ASA issued similar bans on advertisements from UK retailers Next and Marks & Spencer.
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#FirstpostAmerica: Two Zara ads have been banned in the UK for featuring models who looked “unhealthily thin”. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said one model looked “gaunt” because of shadows and her hairstyle. @EKH2016 tells you more. pic.twitter.com/h94rouagzK
— Firstpost (@firstpost) August 6, 2025
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