Witchery has defended itself against child sexualisation claims.
The Advertising Standards Bureau has cleared the national fashion retailer over complaints its Witchery8fourteen summer creative featured children in “provocative” poses.
The complaints stemmed from a Witchery EDM sent to subscribers on August 2, which contained a campaign shot of three young girls aged between 10 and 14 years.
Complaints alleged the children wore inappropriate expressions on their faces.
“These are provocative expressions usually the domain of people far older than these young children,” it was alleged.
“The child actors would most likely not understand why they would have been asked to commit this type of staging.
It was claimed poses in the 'Fourteen' range were also sexualised.
The Advertising Standards Board however, dismissed the complaints, noting the girls were wearing age appropriate clothing.
The girls were also found to be wearing minimal makeup and poses “confident” and “befitting” of their age.
Witchery strongly defended against the claims in its response to the Board, noting it worked with several regulatory bodies and codes.
“We believe that this image and overlayed copy has been misconstrued in a manner that was not our intention.
“The brand campaign reflects the strategic position of the Witchery8fourteen brand which has a level of sophistication for the modern girl 8 - 14 years of age.
“The girls were purposefully selected as authentic representatives of their age group...and we demonstrate this with real insights on who they really are what they enjoy and how they positively live their lives.”
The campaign tells the story of musician Sarah, sports person Bethany and writer Isabella.