UK bans Rimmel makeup ad for playing on girls' 'insecurities'

An "irresponsible" advert for cosmetics brand Rimmel was banned by the UK regulator on Wednesday for "playing on young girls' insecurities".

Rimmel London was censured by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for the paid-for ad seen on Facebook on September 9.

The ad included the caption "get ready to slay this back to school season".

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The post included a video of an influencer applying makeup and a shot of a Rimmel concealer product for hiding facial blemishes.

In its defence, Rimmel London, a subsidiary of US beauty multinational Coty, said the campaign "in no way communicated a need to wear make up but rather focused on trending make-up looks".

It said the campaign was targeted at the 18-35 age group and its own internal guidelines stipulated it did not market to children.

Ruling against the firm, however, the ASA said the ad "implied that girls or young women were more likely to succeed or do well when they went back to school if they wore make-up".

This "had the effect of playing on young girls' insecurities about their appearance" and was therefore "irresponsible", it said.