The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has released a batch of rulings on adverts for liquid Brazilian Butt Lift procedures.
The ASA utilised its Active Ad Monitoring system, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to search for online advertisements that trivialise the risks of the liquid BBL procedure, or exploit women’s insecurities surrounding body image. The organisation explains that its AI system, launched in 2023, currently processes two to three million adverts each month, aiming to identify misleading or harmful content amongst the health, gambling and investments sectors. The ASA shares that these rulings form part of a wider task to tackle advertisement surrounding liquid BBL’s.
The ASA released six cases of aesthetic clinics dangerously advertising for the liquid BBL procedure, with one advertisement stating, “Black Friday Liquid BBL and hip filler…0% infection rate. Sterile clinic…adds curves…minimal pain.” This was accompanied by the caption, “Black Friday deals so good, they won’t last long! Get your appointments before the price increase on the 30th November 2024!” The ASA challenged the advertisement because the time limit pressured consumers into booking a cosmetic procedure, and the claim ‘minimal pain’ trivialised the risks of cosmetic procedures.
The other advertisements echoed parallel issues of time pressure, alongside exploiting women’s insecurities around body image, with one advertisement stating, “Get the curves and contours you’ve always wanted.” Another advertisement captioned the description, “Achieve your body goals with 20% Black Friday discounts. Get instant results. Increase bum volume. Tailored treatment plan.” The ASA stated, “marketers should not play on consumer’s insecurities and must not suggest that happiness or wellbeing depends on conforming to a particular body shape.”
The ASA emphasised that none of the ads must appear again in the form complained about, telling clinics to ensure future advertising did not pressure consumers into booking, or trivialise the risks of cosmetic procedures.
Jess Tye, Regulatory Projects manager at the ASA, commented, “Last October, we conducted a targeted sweep of UK-based advertisers of cosmetic surgery and non-surgical cosmetic interventions. This sweep showed us that some businesses weren’t following the advertising rules, leading us to launch six investigations into ads for liquid BBLs. One of our key commitments is to protect vulnerable audiences, which is why we’re undertaking proactive work in this area. Choosing to undergo a cosmetic procedure is a serious decision, so ads that trivialise this, exploit insecurities or pressure consumers can cause real harm. We’re particularly concerned about these type of ads for liquid BBLs, given the procedure is currently unregulated and is known to be high risk. We plan to continue this work through follow-up monitoring and compliance action to make sure the cosmetic surgery and non-surgical cosmetic interventions industries are advertising responsibly.”
The ASA has confirmed to Aesthetics that it plans to release relevant guidance soon, although a publication date has not yet been set.
