Diet food company's advert slammed for equating weight loss with happiness

The diet food advert has been slammed. Picture: Contributed

The television ad featured a character, Cheryl, talking to her former self two months after starting a food plan delivered by Edinburgh-based Diet Chef, saying: “I know how you feel, you can look that good again you  know.

“You look, amazing. I never dreamed I could be that slim again,” and “I bought a bikini last week, for the first time since this picture.”

The former Cheryl was shown wearing a baggy shirt and had messy hair and appeared distressed, while the current Cheryl had a more polished appearance and a happier demeanour.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received complaints from 26 viewers objecting that the ad was offensive and irresponsible for exploiting women’s insecurities about their bodies by implying that they needed to be slim to be attractive and happy and implying that overweight women did not take care of themselves or their appearance.

Diet Chef said the advert showed the frustration of the former Cheryl, who did not feel able to make a change in her lifestyle or to maintain a controlled diet and so was surprised that she had done so, and the sense of achievement of the current  Cheryl.

They provided a document showing that when playing the former Cheryl, the actor had a BMI of 27.4, which was in the overweight category. The company said the change of appearance reflected the change in her lifestyle and her “taking control”, and the overall approach of the ad was typical of the “before and after” genre of ads commonly used to advertise weight loss products.

The ASA said the former version of Cheryl appeared less polished than the current version but did not give the impression that she had neglected her personal appearance, and considered that viewers would be unlikely to find this part of the ad offensive.

But it said the character’s unhappy demeanour while talking about wearing a bikini appeared disproportionate to concerns about her weight, especially as she did not appear to be particularly overweight.

The ASA said: “We considered that viewers would understand that her concerns about her weight had had a significant effect on her general wellbeing.

“We considered that, overall, the ad focused disproportionately on the former Cheryl’s negative feelings about her appearance and implied that weight loss was the only solution to her problems.

“It therefore implied that those with insecurities about their bodies, could only achieve happiness and self-confidence through weight loss.”