Last week, Talent Management checked out the winners from the first ever Government-backed Body Confidence Awards in association with Bare Minerals. And while knitwear designer Mark Fast may have hogged the Body Confidence Awards headlines, having won the All Walks Beyond the Catwalk visionary fashion award for casting curvy catwalk models, he wasn’t the only one hailed for promoting model diversity.

Boots’ cosmetic brand No7 won the coveted Beauty Award for their ‘Ta Dah’ campaign, triumphing over nominees Illamasqua, Look Good… Feel Better and MAC Cosmetics.

Having blogged about the campaign when it was launched in September last year, the team at Talent Management thought this was a well-deserved win.

Not only did we love the campaign’s concept – which celebrated the idea of real beauty – we were also big fans of their model choices and decision to eschew retouching, which is a brave move from any company, let alone a cosmetics brand.

No7 chose a selection of stunning age-appropriate models who had not had plastic surgery and the shots of the models were created without using enhancements, such as false eyelashes and airbrushing post-production.

Amanda Walker, head of No7, said: “No7 has always been a brand committed to making all British women look and feel beautiful. This dedication requires a deep understanding of British women, their thoughts and feelings towards beauty.

“What we want to show with the ‘Ta-Dah’ campaign is a moment in time that all women have, when they know they look and, perhaps more importantly, feel their absolute best.”

No7 said that the campaign would not ‘misrepresent the efficacy’ of its products, as was the case with the infamous Lancôme and Maybelline ads that were infamously banned by the ASA for excessive airbrushing.

By not retouching or digitally manipulating its campaign images, Mother, the company behind the adverts, said that No7 was ‘breaking the mould’.

Talent Management, the modelling agency that supports real and diverse beauty, couldn’t agree more – a product aimed at real women should be fronted by equally real, relatable and natural models, which is exactly what No7 has done.

This is a justly earned win and we hope that this acknowledgement will inspire others to follow suit with more un-airbrushed campaigns!