An online advert filmed at the wedding of Vicky Pattison and posted on social media by the reality TV star has been banned by the advertising watchdog for “glamorising smoking”.
An advert for Endrick Clothing, which is owned by Pattison’s husband, Ercan Ramadan, started with Ramadan lighting a cigar next to Pattison before zooming out to show the couple sitting in front of seven groomsmen either holding or puffing on a cigar. Pattinson did not smoke a cigar.
Ramadan posted the video on his Instagram account on 3 October 2024 and Pattinson posted it on her account about a week later. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) “concluded that the ads were irresponsible”.
The ASA upheld two complaints: one that accused the advert of glamorising smoking and another that challenged whether the advert “was obviously identifiable as a marketing communication”.
Outlining its decisions, the ASA said the “video presented smoking in an appealing manner and suggested that it was part of a glamorous and aspirational lifestyle”, which breached its code on social responsibility.
It said: “While we acknowledged the ad was for menswear products, we considered that the ad’s principal focus was on smoking and that it was depicted as an enjoyable group activity. We considered that the use of slow motion, the formal setting and the jazz-style music added to the stylised and aspirational tone.”
The watchdog also said the advert was “not obviously identifiable as a marketing communication”, though it did acknowledge the caption on Ramadan’s video said “Groom & Groomsman suited by @endrickclothing”. Ultimately, the ASA ruled the advert breached its code on recognition of marketing communications.
The ASA said the adverts “must not appear again in the form complained of” and told Endrick Clothing Ltd that they must ensure “future ads were socially responsible, in particular by not condoning or encouraging smoking” and that identifiers such as “#ad” must be used to ensure they were “obviously identifiable as marketing communications”.
The advertising watchdog contacted Ramadan and Endrick Clothing but neither party responded. Pattinson did respond but the ASA said she did not provide a substantive response to the first complaint. In relation to the second, the ASA said Pattinson “confirmed that any of her posts that featured Endrick Clothing would be labelled as ads in future”.
Pattison, who found fame on Geordie Shore and later won the 15th series of I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!, married Ramadan at Marylebone town hall in London in August. They held a second ceremony and party in September in Puglia, Italy. Their nuptials were filmed for an E4 TV show called Vicky Pattison: My Big Fat Geordie Wedding.
