Who: The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Saeta Tech Ltd t/a PixVideo – AI Video Maker
Where: United Kingdom
When: 18 March 2026
Law stated as at: 16 April 2026
What happened
A paid-for online ad for PixVideo – AI Video Maker showed a side-by-side “before” and “after” comparison image of a young woman. In the “before” image, a red scribble was overlaid over the woman’s midriff, appearing to originate from an animated cursor. In the “after” image, the area previously covered by the red scribble revealed the woman’s bare skin, including underneath her shorts. Text across the bottom of the image read “Erase anything” alongside a heart-eyes emoji. Beneath the image, further text described the app as offering “No creative boundaries“.
Complainants challenged the ad on the grounds that it sexualised and objectified women, and questioned whether it was irresponsible, offensive and harmful.
PixVideo accepted that the ad’s visuals risked implying uses it did not support or allow, and conceded that this represented a failure in creative execution and oversight. The company pointed to its terms of service, which prohibited the creation of nude or sexually explicit content, and to its automated AI-based detection systems designed to prevent such content being generated. It stated that the app did not support the removal of clothing or the creation of nude imagery. PixVideo confirmed that it had already removed the ad and voluntarily suspended all advertising across all platforms pending a comprehensive internal audit.
The ASA upheld the complaints. The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct and Promotional Marketing requires that ads be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society, must not cause serious or widespread offence and must not include harmful gender stereotypes. The ASA found that viewers would understand from the ad that the app was capable of removing clothing from images at the user’s discretion. The ASA determined that the combination of the visual “before and after” presentation, the text “Erase anything” and “No creative boundaries”, and the heart-eyes emoji all reinforced the impression that the app could be used to create nude images for sexual gratification. Despite acknowledging that the app did not in fact permit users to create such content, the ASA concluded that the ad reduced the woman depicted to a sexual object and condoned digitally altering and exposing women’s bodies without their consent. The ASA welcomed PixVideo’s willingness to withdraw the ad but nonetheless found it to be irresponsible, harmful and likely to cause serious offence.
Why this matters
This ruling is a reminder that advertising for AI-powered tools must not sexualise or objectify individuals, even where the product itself does not permit such use. Protecting women and girls is high on the government and regulators’ agenda, and the ASA shows that it will not hesitate to act where advertising implies that technology can be used to exploit individuals without their consent. Advertisers of AI tools should take particular care to ensure that their creative execution does not suggest capabilities that objectify, degrade or cause harm regardless of the tool’s actual functionality.
