Google this week issued a note to media buyers using its AdWords platform telling them they can no longer hone their campaigns using the term “curvy” and, or “plus-size.”

Buzzfeed reports that Google this week rejected one clothing company’s Gmail ad because it was targeted at people whose Gmail correspondence contained the words “curvy” and/or “plus-size.”

The initial report contains quotes ad agency WordStream in Google's alleged disapproval of a client’s Gmail ad from a blog post dated 14 January (which has since been removed). in the post, it alleges that an AdWords customer service representative rejected the ad under the company’s “body-type and personality-type targeting” rules. The rep called “plus-size” and “curvy” “negative physical attributes”.

According to WordStream’s Elisa Gabbert such a policy disadvantages "plus-size advertisers" as appealing to such an audience requires them to use more specific language than their straight-size counterparts.

According to Buzzfeed, a Google spokesperson claimed it has adjusted the language used in AdWords emails enforcing its “body-type targeting” policy.

Source: Buzzfeed