ASA rules campaign for Yves Saint Laurent brand 'irresponsible'
An ad for Yves Saint Laurent's Opium perfume that featured a woman who appeared to be under the influence of drugs has been banned by the advertising watchdog.
The campaign for Belle d'Opium featured a woman who ran her finger along the inside of her forearm and in a second scene her "body seized upwards while lying on the floor".
The Advertising Standards Authority received complaints from 13 viewers that the ad was irresponsible and offensive because the woman's action simulated drug use.
Trading company YSL Beaute said that the Opium fragrance had been a registered trademark in the UK since 1977 and the spin-off, Belle d'Opium, was about a woman that was "addictive and seduced the viewer to become this addiction". The company said that it was a responsible advertiser and did not intend to use drug imagery in the ad and that consumer research had shown that viewers had not interpreted it in that way.
The ASA said that the image of the finger running down the woman's arm "could be seen to simulate the injection of opiates into the body". In addition the later scene, which included the woman writhing on the floor, could be seen to "simulate the effect of drugs on the body".
The ASA banned the ad concluding that it was "irresponsible and unacceptable for broadcast".
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/feb/02/opium-perfume-ad
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