The ASA seems to think so!
The ASA have upheld complaints made about a TV ad for the acne brand Proactiv, featuring Jorgie Porter, as they found that it implied that children with bad skin who did not use the product would be bullied. As a result of the ASA's decision, the TV ad can no longer feature around programmes which are commissioned for or principally aimed at or likely to appeal to children.
To say that the ad implied that children would be bullied for not using the product is a tenuous link but at least they didn't beat Proactiv too badly and ban the ad completely. They simply gave them a slap on the wrist, imposed a scheduling restriction and stole their lunch money.
We noted that the ads went on to describe how Ms Porter had cleared up her bad skin by using the Proactiv products, for example, where she stated, "I was so, so happy when I discovered Proactiv+. It changed everything. I get so many compliments about how good my skin is now ... I have beautiful skin now. When you find something that works, it's a bit of a miracle ...". We considered that the ads created a direct link between an incidence of bullying in her childhood as a result of her bad skin and a product she said had made her skin clearer, and that as a result the ads implied that children who had bad skin and did not use the product were likely to be bullied or ridiculed.
https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/proactiv-skin-health-ltd-a17-388810.html
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