Jaded London's holiday email glamorised smoking — the ASA banned it

A marketing email sent by Jaded London on 27 May 2026 pictured a model standing by a scooter next to a body of water, wearing a pink backless mini dress with her back to the camera and a lit cigarette in her left hand. The fashion brand, whose clothes have been worn by Beyoncé and Kylie Jenner and which has 1.5 million Instagram followers, was investigated after a single complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority.

The ASA found the image 'heavily stylised' and presenting the model 'in a fashionable and attractive manner', evoking an aspirational holiday lifestyle. Because the slim cigarette had visible ash at the tip, the authority treated it as lit, and concluded the association made smoking look appealing and therefore irresponsibly glamorised it. That breached CAP Code rule 1.3, which requires marketing to show a sense of responsibility to consumers and society.

Jaded London argued the cigarette was not the focus of the ad, was slimmer than a typical cigarette, and that no smoke was visible. It acknowledged it understood why smoking imagery was best avoided and confirmed it would not use smoking content in future ads.

The ASA upheld the complaint on 5 August 2026. The email must not appear again in the form complained about, and Jaded London was told to keep future marketing socially responsible.