An advert filmed on the wedding day of reality TV stars Vicky Pattison and Ercan Ramadan was banned for presenting smoking as βpart of a glamourous and aspirational lifestyleβ.
Ramadan posted a video on Instagram on October 3 2024 promoting Endrick Clothing, which he is the director of, showing him and seven groomsmen with cigars with the caption βLa Familia (black heart emoji) Groom & Groomsman suited by @endrickclothingβ.
The same video was shared by Geordie Shore star Pattison, 37, who has 5.5 million followers, on October 11.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld two complaints about the video, one saying it glamorised smoking and another about it not being clearly marked as an βadβ.
It said: βWhile we acknowledged the ad was for menswear products, we considered that the adβs principal focus was on smoking and that it was depicted as an enjoyable group activity.
βWe considered that the use of slow motion, the formal setting and the jazz-style music added to the stylised and aspirational tone.
βWe considered that the video presented smoking in an appealing manner and suggested that it was part of a glamourous and aspirational lifestyle.
βFor that reason, we concluded that the ads were irresponsible.β
The ASA βconsidered the commercial intent of the ad was unclear, and that the post needed to have included a prominent label upfront, identifying it as an ad, which it did not haveβ.
It said the ads βmust not appear again in the form complained ofβ, and Ramadan was told to ensure that future ads were βsocially responsibleβ.
The couple officially married at Marylebone Town Hall in August and married again in Puglia, Italy in September.