Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK’s regulator of advertising, banned the use of the term ‘anti ageing’ in beauty advertising a decade ago, and Allure magazine ditched it across all of its content towards the end of last year.
Then earlier this year the Royal Society For Public Health (RSPH), in partnership with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, called for the term to be banned across the cosmetics and beauty industry vernacular generally.
The good point proponents of this campaign make is that ‘anti-ageing’ paints the ageing process in a negative light, and insinuates that growing older is something to be ashamed of.
Most of us agree that this is not the the case, but could banning the term from our vocabulary completely be seen as a little draconian? Or even do-able?
While the term remains a key word in Google, there are many different ways to promote the notion of ‘better’ or ‘preserved’ in beauty and wellbeing without being specific as to what that actually means.
So where do you draw the line?
