Model Caroline Forsling sues Estée Lauder over claims it branded her 'old' in an ad | the Fashion Spot

Model Caroline Forsling sues Estée Lauder over claims it branded her 'old' in an ad

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A top model has filed a lawsuit against Estée Lauder over claims that it labelled her as 'old' in an advertisement for anti-ageing skincare.
Caroline Louise Forsling is suing the cosmetics giant for $2million, alleging that it used her image without permission in the ad for Plantscription serum by Origins, a brand which is owned by Estée Lauder.
The Swedish beauty, who is 35 according to public records, claims that her career has been 'irreparably' damaged by the poster, which reads that the product was tested on women aged 45-60.


The photograph, which she says was a test shot taken during a shoot for an ad for a different Estée Lauder-owned company, shows her make-up-free with her hair pulled back from her face.

The Plantscription ad shows her face divided into two parts in a 'dramatization' of the serum's results after four weeks.
The 'before' side, on the left, shows an uneven skin tone with visible lines. The 'after' side shows a flawless, wrinkle-free complexion.

Arrows highlight flaws in the model's face, with copy alongside explaining how the serum 'reduces wrinkle length and depth, smooths uneven skin texture, and visibly lifts sagging contours.'
The suit reads: 'Defendants did not disclose in the Plantscription ad... that Forsling never used Plantscription, that Forsling is not aged 45-60 or that the so-called "dramatization" of the product did not result from the use of the product by Forsling, but rather reflected [their] manipulation of a photograph.'


Ms Forsling, who has modelled for Sports Illustrated and J Crew and walked the catwalk for Ralph Lauren and Chanel,does not reveal her age, only stating that she is 'significantly younger than 45'.
She says she had no idea that the test shot, which she says was taken in July last year, would be used by another Estée lauder brand.
Court papers claimed: 'Before stylists did Forsling's hair and makeup for the photo shoot, the photographer took a photograph of Forsling's face as a test shot.'
They added that her 'hair was pulled away from her face and she was wearing little or no make-up' and that Ms Forsling 'believed the test shot would not be used.'
Her lawyers are demanding damages for Estée Lauder's 'false advertising and deceptive acts', as well as a court order 'barring defendants from any unauthorized use of Forsling's image or likeness.' (dailymail.co.uk)
 

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oh man, that sucks for her, but for some reason, i cannot stop laughing. :lol:

i can't help but think about the golden girls episode where blanche and rose are featured in the local pennysaver ad for anti-aging cream :lol:.......and one more time :lol:!!!
 
this just goes to show us how stupid those before/after shots are. :rolleyes:

its just a bunch of hooey.
 
The Swedish beauty, who is 35 according to public records, claims that her career has been 'irreparably' damaged by the poster, which reads that the product was tested on women aged 45-60.

Irreparably damaged? Gurrlll please, you ain't no Gisele. :rolleyes:

Anyway, I guess what they did was wrong, get that cash swedish beauty! B):lol:
 
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I don't know what to make of this because it is very intriguing to get insight and details on yet another act of advertising manipulation, but another part of me is going, "dang girl, you should've STFU and kept collecting those Estee Lauder checks," or at least kept collecting checks until the point where she knew that money that she was collecting from EL was not enough to make up for what she was losing because of the misrepresentation of her age, which may not have even happened.
 
Forsling is best-known for her commercial work with Clairol, Michael Kors, Tod's and J.Crew, walking the runway for Chanel and Ralph Lauren and posing for the 1998 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

huffingtonpost.com

here she is december 2010.
 

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I know it's off topic, but she's not even pretty, let alone a "beauty".
 
IMO she should be happy about the exposure she's getting from being in this ad. It's not like she would get any high fashion work at her age and I don't see how it could be damaging if you're solely a commercial model anyway. I doubt catalog customers care about her age. Plus, it's really not uncommon for models that are barely 20 years old to do anti aging commercials so what's the big deal with being in one when you're old enough that you don't want to publicly reveal your age? Booking a commercial model hardly depends on age, they either like your look or they don't.
I can see why it would be weird for her to star in an ad when they never told her about using that shot, though. But I assume as a model it's probably not easy having control over how your pictures are being used (iirc Lara Stone won the lawsuit against Playboy using her photos though).
 
IMO she should be happy about the exposure she's getting from being in this ad. It's not like she would get any high fashion work at her age and I don't see how it could be damaging if you're solely a commercial model anyway. I doubt catalog customers care about her age. Plus, it's really not uncommon for models that are barely 20 years old to do anti aging commercials so what's the big deal with being in one when you're old enough that you don't want to publicly reveal your age? Booking a commercial model hardly depends on age, they either like your look or they don't.
I can see why it would be weird for her to star in an ad when they never told her about using that shot, though. But I assume as a model it's probably not easy having control over how your pictures are being used (iirc Lara Stone won the lawsuit against Playboy using her photos though).

Well, the client and agency come to the terms of each job seperately before the model is officially booked for it. (What it's for, gross fee, which countries it's released in and for how long, etc) and if it's true that they used a test shot taken from another job and she truly did not get booked to advertise this specific product, she will win no doubt. What confuses me though, is if it's true, why would Estee Lauder need to cut corners like that? Not exactly subtle.
 
^That makes sense but I was under the impression that it happened quite often a shot got used for something different than it was initially intended for. For example the backstage shots that Etro used for their print campaigns or when editorial pictures end up being re-printed and used for a cover in another country and another magazine and such.
 
'Significantly younger than 45'. That quote was funny Yeah like she's 25. I bet she's 38. The before picture is poorly done and sadly a lot of consumers buy into this fake and altered image.
 
It was all going good, she had a decent argument then she declined to say her age.... that's not good. If she's say 25 then it would have made sense but if she's in her mid 30's then I say give her nothing.
 
^ Exactly. Throw a bucket of dirt and hope it sticks.
 

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