Jaded London ad banned over smoking imagery

The UK's advertising watchdog has upheld a complaint against fashion brand Jaded London, ruling that one of its marketing emails "glamourised smoking".

In a ruling published by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the regulator found that an email sent on 27 May 2026, featuring a model wearing a backless pink mini dress while holding what it described as "a slim cigarette with visible ash at the tip", breached the CAP Code on social responsibility.

In reponse, Jaded London argued it was "not clear whether the model was holding a cigarette" and said that, if viewers did perceive it as one, "it did not appear to be lit" because no smoke was visible. The brand also claimed that the object "was not the focus of the ad", yet confirmed it would avoid using smoking content in future advertising.

The ASA disagreed, stating the campaign depicted "a young woman in fashionable clothing and accessories" in a scene that "evoked an aspirational holiday lifestyle". By associating that image with smoking, the watchdog determined that the advert "had the effect of portraying smoking as appealing and therefore irresponsibly glamourised it".

While recognising Jaded London's pledge not to feature smoking in future campaigns, the ASA ruled that the advert must not appear again in its current form and instructed the retailer to ensure future marketing communications "were socially responsible and did not glamourise smoking".