'Sexually suggestive' TV advert from fashion retailer Pretty Little Thing banned

A television advert for online fashion retailer Pretty Little Thing has been banned.

It's after the firm featured an adult model who looked like a child in sexually suggestive clothes and poses.

The ad featured two women modelling outfits in the middle of the desert.

One viewer complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that it was irresponsible for portraying models who appeared to be children in a sexualised manner.

The advert in question was screened on ITVBe during an episode of Dinner Date in April.

Two more complaints, about another Pretty Little Thing TV advert and a poster in a London subway tunnel, weren't upheld.

21 Three Clothing, which trades as Pretty Little Thing, said the models were 23 and 24 and the styles of clothing worn in the ad were on-trend pieces designed for festivals.

Ad clearance agency Clearcast said its viewing panel felt that the tone of the ad was in line with the summer or festival spirit of the products and the models featured were neither childlike nor indecent or overly sexualised.

The ASA said that one model had a "very youthful appearance", some of the outfits were tight fitting or revealing and some poses drew attention to the models' chests and bottoms.

The advertising watchdog said the combination of the models' poses, their expressions and their outfits meant that the ad was sexually suggestive.

It wrote: "We considered that the ad portrayed a model who appeared to be under 16 in a manner that was sexually suggestive.

"We therefore concluded that the ad was irresponsible and in breach of the code."

It ruled the advert shouldn't appear again.

"We told Prettylittlething.com to ensure that future ads did not sexualise those who appeared to be children."

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