ASA Rules Against Retailer’s Campaign Featuring Travis Barker’s Daughter

  • PrettyLittleThing ad banned by ASA for portraying minor in sexualized manner
  • Ad campaign featured Travis Barker’s daughter Alabama Barker, who was 16 at the time
  • ASA ruled retailer used ‘socially irresponsible’ images of model
  • PLT disagreed with allegations and said all creative was approved by Barker and her team
  • Report found images objectified women and likely to cause offense
  • Ad must not appear again in current form
  • Prettylittlething.com Ltd told to ensure future ads are responsible and do not offend

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a PrettyLittleThing (PLT) advertisement for portraying an individual under 18 in a sexualized manner. The ad campaign in question featured Travis Barker’s daughter, Alabama Barker, who was 16 at the time. The ASA determined that PLT used ‘socially irresponsible’ images of the model. In response to the complaint, PrettyLittleThing said they did not intend to sexualize Ms. Barker and disagreed that she was portrayed in a sexual manner. They added that all creative was approved by Ms. Barker and her team and that she was posed in a similar style to images seen on her own Instagram account. However, the watchdog’s report stated: ‘We concluded that the images objectified the woman and were therefore irresponsible and likely to cause serious offense.’ The ASA ordered that the ad must not appear again in its current form. Prettylittlething.com Ltd was told to ensure that future ads are prepared with a sense of responsibility towards consumers and society, avoiding serious or widespread offense by objectifying women. In response, PLT said: ‘While they did not believe the image objectified women, they appreciated the importance of the issue raised and agreed to remove the images from their website.’

Factuality Level: 8
Factuality Justification: The article provides accurate information about the ASA’s ruling on the PrettyLittleThing advert, includes quotes from both the company and the watchdog, and presents a balanced view of the situation.
Noise Level: 3
Noise Justification: The article provides relevant information about the ASA’s ruling on a specific advert and the company’s response, but it could have included more details about the specific images in question and the reasoning behind the decision for better understanding.
Financial Relevance: No
Financial Markets Impacted: No
Financial Rating Justification: The article discusses an advertising ban by the ASA on a retailer’s campaign featuring a celebrity’s daughter, which does not have direct financial relevance or impact on financial markets or companies.
Presence Of Extreme Event: No
Nature Of Extreme Event: No
Impact Rating Of The Extreme Event: No
Extreme Rating Justification: There is no extreme event mentioned in this article.

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