ASA bans 'misleading' Rimmel mascara ads featuring Jagger model

The campaign, by JWT, featured two print ads and a TV ad. The campaign was for the 1-2-3 Looks mascara by Rimmel London, owned by Coty UK, and featured model Georgia May Jagger.

The TV ad showed Jagger walking down a catwalk and getting on to a motorbike. The voiceover said: "Rimmel London new 1-2-3 Looks Mascara. Just turn the dial. Adjustable lash volume from light to dramatic… three hot looks in one mascara."

Close ups in the ad showed Jagger's eyelashes appearing to get longer in three stages.

Jagger closed the ad with the line "Get the London look" and on-screen text noted, "shot with lash inserts".

The two print ads followed the same format. Each showed three shots of Jagger's profile or three close-ups of her eye. The shots showed her lashes becoming progressively longer while accompanying text explained the product and included the statement, "shot with lash inserts".

The campaign received one complaint that claimed the ads were misleading because "the differing effect in each image or look was achieved by using an increasing number and length of lash inserts". It said it "exaggerated the effect achievable from the use of the product alone".

The ASA also challenged whether the disclaimer in the print ads, "shot with lash inserts," was clear enough to consumers.

Coty UK admitted there were three different kinds of lash inserts used in the ads, but claimed they were not misleading as they were an accurate representation that could be achieved by using the product.

The ASA upheld the complaint. It said Coty UK "did not make it clear that the lash inserts used were of different lengths."

The ASA also noted a study of five people, undertaken by Coty UK, which concluded the mascara could deliver increased lash volume, was too small.

The ASA said: "Although we understood that the effect achieved using the product would depend on the user's eyelashes, we considered that we had not seen sufficient evidence to show that the visual representation could be achieved through the use of the product only."

The ASA also said that the disclaimer text was "not sufficiently clear", and has banned the ads in their current form.

This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk