A banned Gucci ad from last year
In an effort to crack down on eating disorders and irresponsible advertising, the French government has made it mandatory for advertisers to declare whether an image has been Photoshopped.
From 1 October, digitally-altered or enhanced images that make models look slimmer or larger must carry the tag-line ‘Photographie retouchée’, which translates to ‘edited photograph’, or brands will be fined at least €37,500 (£33,000) or 30% of the cost of creating the ad.
According to the French health ministry, around 600,000 teenagers and young adults in France have an eating disorder – and retouching images to change body shape and appearance is now being treated as a public health issue.
The former health minister, Marisol Touraine, who introduced the legislation in May, said it was intended “to avoid promoting inaccessible ideals of beauty and to prevent anorexia among young people.”
“Exposing young people to normative and unrealistic images of bodies leads to a sense of self-depreciation and poor self-esteem that can impact health-related behaviour,” Touraine said.
In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has proposed a ban on sexist ads following a report which concluded stronger regulation is required to limit the negative impacts of ads that feature stereotypical gender roles – including body image, objectification, sexualisation, gender characteristics and roles, and mocking people for not conforming to gender stereotypes.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has also banned all ‘body-shaming’ adverts from appearing on the tube network and at bus stops.
