Commissioned by the Malaysian-based Medical Tourism Association, an advertisement poster encouraging women to travel to Malaysia for breast augmentation surgery has been banned by the UK’s Avertising Standards Association (ASA) for ‘trivialising’ the cosmetic procedure. The advertisement posters were displayed in public toilets at a number of motorway service stations and shopping centers in the UK.
The ad says: “Did you know … ‘Boob job’ is the most popular cosmetic procedure for women.”
“Malaysia is proud to be amongst one of the only countries within the region where medical tourism is promoted by the government,” the poster said.
The ad goes on to discuss safety standards of the cosmetic surgery industry in Malaysia, before adding, ‘our private hospitals bagged 3 out of 9 awards at the international Medical Travel Awards 2014.’
Admedia, the media space buyer that booked the ad on behalf of the Medical Tourism Association, defended their client, saying the ad: “had not advertised a holiday due to the absence of pricing, tourists or accommodation information nor did it include an option to sign up for a cosmetic procedure.’
It claims ‘the ad was informative and promoted safety and high standards, demonstrated by examples of internationally recognised awards.’
However, the ASA didn’t agree and ruled that the main focus of the poster was medical tourism for breast augmentation, and this emphasis “was likely to detract from the seriousness of the surgery offered”.
Source: Daily Mail
