Kate Moss mascara ads banned after complaints her lashes were false

Mascara ads showing Kate Moss sporting "traffic stopping" eyelashes have been banned after complaints that the supermodel's lashes were false.

The magazine and TV ads for Rimmel said that the 'Magnif'eyes mascara' produced 70 per cent more lift, with a 'unique vertical life brush' helping wearers 'get the London look'.

The offending Rimmel ad

Moss features in both the magazine ad and the TV commercial - but two viewers complained that they did not believe her eyelashes were genuine and that the ads exaggerated the effect of the mascara.

Ad firm J Walter Thompson (JWT) insisted that Moss was not wearing false eyelashes, but did not provide documentary evidence to back it up. The firm admitted the lashes were enhanced after the shoot.

The Advertising Standards Authority investigated complaints that the lashes were false and also challenged whether Rimmel could back up their claim that the mascara provided 70 per cent more lift.

Rimmel said it had developed existing brush technology by creating a mascara brush that provided greater lash lift and claimed it had tested the claim of 70 per cent more lash lift on ten female panellists.

It provided a table and a sample before and after shot, claiming the results showed the average increase in lash lift from roof to tip was 74.7 per cent.

The Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC) said they were satisfied that the demonstration sequences were an accurate reflection of the capabilities of the product and supported the claims made in the TV ad.