An advert for L’Oréal’s anti-wrinkle cream featuring the Oscar-winning British actress Rachel Weisz has been banned for being misleading.
The Advertising Standards Authority said that the cosmetics firm had digitally enhanced and misrepresented what was achievable by women.
The industry watchdog was following up a complaint from Scottish Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson who said the advert for Revitalift Repair 10, featuring a close-up, black and white photograph of Weisz had been altered in post-production and “substantially changed her complexion to make it appear smoother and more even” and “misleadingly exaggerated the performance of the product”.
Last year, Ms Swinson, co-founder of the Campaign for Body Confidence, successfully complained to the regulator that L’Oréal magazine ads featuring Christy Turlington for Maybelline foundation, The Eraser and Julia Roberts for Lancome foundation product, Teint Miracle, had been digitally enhanced. She said: “The beauty and advertising industries need to stop ripping off consumers with dishonest images.”