L’Oreal Forced To Pull Airbrushed Ads In The UK
In yet another Photoshopping scandal, L’Oreal has been forced to pull a Maybelline ad of Christy Turlington and a Lancome ad of Julia Roberts in the UK due to too much airbrushing. Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority has banned the ads in the UK, concluding such matters without being able to compare them with the before and after shots because Roberts actually has a clause in her contract that reads that no unairbrushed shots can be released.
To make up for this fact, L’Oreal provided red carpet shots of the women. The ASA argued that they “Believed the image used was consistent with the public perception of the model Christy Turlington who was a beautiful woman with a naturally fantastic complexion.” For Roberts’, a similar argument was made, acknowledging that she was known for her iconic beauty “and that professional styling makeup were used to create the image. We understood that high quality studio photography, and the inherent covering and smoothing nature of the product also contributed to the image of flawless skin.”
Still, they ultimately decided that both of the shots were too misleading. The ASA stated that for Roberts ad, “On the basis of the evidence we had received we could not conclude that the ad image accurately illustrated what effect the product could achieve, and that the image had not been exaggerated by digital post production techniques.”
Do you think it’s good that the ASA stepped in, and Photoshopping may really be getting out of control? Or do you think due to the fact that they weren’t able to see the true “before” shots, that there really wasn’t enough evidence?
