L'Oréal's airbrushed Julia Roberts ad was banned — the retouching had gone too far

In July 2011 the ASA banned two L'Oréal ads: a Lancôme mascara ad featuring Julia Roberts and a Maybelline anti-ageing foundation ad featuring Christy Turlington. The complaint came from Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson, who said the images were 'airbrushed to within an inch of their lives' and misled consumers about what cosmetics can actually do.

The ASA agreed the images were exaggerated and breached the advertising code. L'Oréal admitted retouching — lightening skin, cleaning up make-up, smoothing lips — but could not provide evidence of exactly how much had been done, and the final images went beyond what the products could achieve. 'Airbrushing is a question of degree,' said ASA chief executive Guy Parker; ads could be banned only if they were misleading.

L'Oréal defended the campaign, saying the images accurately reflected the products' results and that Roberts' look came from 'naturally healthy and glowing skin'. The watchdog ruled otherwise and banned the ads in their current form — one of the first high-profile rulings on retouching in beauty advertising, arriving amid a public debate about body image.