Anti-acne advert featuring actress Jorgie Porter banned from children's TV

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Jorgie PorterImage source, ASA

Anti-acne adverts featuring actress Jorgie Porter can't be shown during children's programmes any more.

It's after the advertising watchdog found that it implied teenagers who have bad skin but don't use Proactiv+ are more likely to be bullied.

In the ads, the former Hollyoaks actress tearfully describes bullying she received in high school when another student called her "oi spotty".

Jorgie describes how the insult left her "gutted".

In the advert she says: "It's your face. When nothing works, you're so sad and you just think, 'Well that's me now forever.'

"I was so, so happy when I discovered Proactiv+. It changed everything."

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Jorgie Porter played Theresa McQueen in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks until last year

Four viewers complained about the advert saying it implied that you needed to use the product, otherwise you'd be bullied.

The Advertising Standards Agency upheld the complaint.

"We considered that the ads created a direct link between an incidence of bullying in her childhood as a result of her bad skin and a product she said had made her skin clearer, and that as a result the ads implied that children who had bad skin and did not use the product were likely to be bullied or ridiculed."

The adverts can't be shown again in their current form around programmes made for children or likely to appeal particularly to them.

But Proactiv Skin Health said the advert "simply sets out the personal story and experience of one woman".

A statement says: "It was never our intention for the ad to be interpreted in this way.

"We simply wanted to show that Jorgie had struggled with breakouts for a long time and that the advertised products had worked for her and could also work for the viewers.

"We are very sorry if anyone has been offended by the ad."

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