Lana Del Rey Gets Blowback Over Undisclosed Skims Ads

Lana Del Rey is getting taken to task by the national Advertising Division (NAD) over undisclosed ads for Kim Kardashian’s Skims brand on Instagram.

Both Lana Del Rey and Brittany Mahomes both were asked to provide their followers with greater disclosures around paid promotions for the brand—or discontinue making the posts. The NAD is a non-profit organization that oversees independent industry self-regulation initiatives in the United States. Skims was also investigated to ensure its partnerships with these two women complied with the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) endorsement guidelines.

Those guidelines call for clear disclosure of any ‘material connection’ a creator has with a brand—including personal, family, employment, or financial relationships. Influencers who post for brands online are required to clearly indicate whether the post is sponsored or part of a brand’s campaign. They’re also required to disclose if the product featured as gifted or discounted in return for their endorsement.

The NAD reviewed three Instagram posts from Lana Del Rey, which she shared with her 20.6 million followers in January 2024. The posts were part of a Valentine’s Day collaboration with Skims, featuring Del Rey wearing Skims lingerie and pajamas. The caption on the post stated “Good morning Skims, excited to be your Valentine.”

As part of the probe, the NAD asked Del Rey to discontinue or modify three posts tagging the posts as #ad or #sponsored as her contract with the brand requires. In 2017, the FTC took several celebrities to task for not disclosing relationships with brands including Naomi Campbell, Victoria Beckham, and Kourtney Kardashian.

“As a supporter of voluntary industry self-regulation, Skims welcomes the opportunity to work with NAD in upholding high standards of truth and accuracy and appreciates NAD’s recognition of the steps Skims has taken to ensure its contracted influencers comply with the FTC endorsement guidelines,” Skims said in a statement to AdWeek about the regulatory action.