In the early 2000s, America’s Next Top Model sold itself as an inside look at “the industry”. What it really shipped, week after week, was a rulebook about bodies, delivered with better lighting and a judging panel. The rule wasn’t subtle. Thinness wasn’t a background detail. It was treated like the entry requirement, the performance metric, and the punchline, all at once.

Attractive people in adverts aren’t there by accident. They’re there because our brains treat certain faces and bodies as high-priority information, and advertising is designed to exploit that split-second shortcut. We notice symmetry, health cues, and youth cues automatically. Attention happens before thought, before judgement. Brands use conventionally attractive people because it reliably grabs attention fast, even when the product has nothing to do with beauty.

Feeling good in your skin isn’t the same as promoting a severely underweight frame and calling it a “healthy, toned physique.” In recent campaigns, Zara, Next, and M&S crossed that line. The 2025 M&S ad emphasised the model’s pointed shoes to draw attention to her thin legs, while Zara showcased a drawn, hollow face — a look that pushes unhealthy thinness as a criterion for style.

In 2025, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned a Next product image for portraying an “unhealthily thin” model. The image showed a model sitting on a wooden block, legs stretched toward the camera, wearing black leggings and heels. The low camera angle elongated her legs, and the tight fit emphasised their slimness.

In 2025, the ASA banned a Marks & Spencer ad for portraying what it called an “unhealthily thin” model. On paper, it was a simple clothing shot. In practice, it was a visual gamble — and the regulator ruled that gamble crossed the line.