The battle over body image in fashion opened another front in Europe. A controversial ad featuring an emaciated woman (caution: disturbing image in that link) is supposed to provoke conversation, but others have accused the company of trying to profit off the controversy.
What do you think? Do fashion advertising affect body image? Are most models too thin? Are advertisers responsible for the social impact of their messages? If so, does that apply to single messages or advertising as a whole? Go back to the first week of this blog and check out the post on a church's view of advertising and its "10 commandments." How does this square with that?
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Ad controversy
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14 comments:
as far as "are most models too thin"...
last month I was at a massive photo shoot and some of the models were very healthy, though thin, while others really were anorexic. I think advertising images definitely contribute to body image problems in certain people. Many ads sell a lifestyle, that goes with a body type, that goes with a product...it is hard to escape.
Sickly thin models are just one of the many examples of how women are constantly abused in the media. Yes, when women are bombarded with images of a certain beauty ideal, we begin to see that as "the norm". While all women deal with that differently, there's no denying that this is a relevant issue. Similarly, men feel pressured to live up to ideals of masculinity. I feel like these fantasies that the media passes off as reality are like smog. Everyone is so used to being surrounded by it that they don't remember or can't imagine clear skies.
Regarding this specific ad, it is shocking and disturbing. I'm not sure that it really acheives anything. I do think that woman is being exploited as an eye-catching photo attached to a brand name. Furthermore, people who suffer from anorexia have a distorted self-image. It must be harmful to see that image in a two-page spread.
Sure they're trying to profit off the controversy. Profit is the point.
Remember that Dove ad that shows the evolution of a model? Is that how print ads really work? If we can't distort reality in a news photo, why is it OK in advertising?
Skinny models don't represent reality, in a similar way as that Dove model doesn't represent reality.
Do normal people buy those clothes that skinny models wear on the runways? Somehow I don't think it's about us, it's about impressing other designers.
Humans have a tendency to glamorize the outliers on standard deviations of normalcy. Look at artists and scholars through history. They accomplished "great" things because they weren't normal. We're doing the same thing with abnormally thin women. Gack.
If the company is trying to send a message about the dangers of anorexia, they definitely made a point. However I am not sure this was the best way to do it. It kind of reminds me of the latest episode of America's Next Top Model where Tyra wanted to send a message about models smoking and she had the contestants take pictures displaying the dangers of smoking. The intent was good, but the pictures came out looking more like the girls were mocking the situation rather than lamenting it. Similarly, in this situation, it almost seems like this woman is being exploited or being made fun of. There are other ways to send a message that are just as effective and more sensitive.
I think this ad proved what is wrong with advertising today. Even though the company claims it is using it to combat models that are too thin, I think they are using more shock value.
This will also prove to little girls, that the skinnier you are the more likely you are to get on a billboard or in a magazine- this is the completely wrong attitude!
In Europe, they took models with a very low Body Mass Index off the runways, they should take this woman out of the ad and put her in the care of doctor's.
I saw a segment on E-News (great news outlet, I know)about the controversy that a 13-year-old model is creating. She was named the "face" of Australia's fashion week and many people think she's too young. I just think this shows how wacked our body image has become because the body of a 13-year-old will NEVER be a real women's body and most of the models on the runways and in ads definitely resemble the body of a teenager, maybe even a teenage boy, much more than a womanly figure.
Article on her from ABCnews.com
http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/Story?id=3620910&page=3
and this from the Today Show: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/20829880/
Advertising definitely influences how people view their own bodies. i think the sad thing about this story is that some girls who see this ad may become even more anorexic because they will want to be as skinny as the woman in the ads. it sounds absurd but people with anorexic have such distorted views of themselves and of others that this ad may be used to fuel their disease. i wish this was not the case.
I think it is good that the agency is bringing attention to a prominant problem in the modeling industry, but I think it would add to their campaign if they were giving some of the money to some kind of foundation to help aorexia victims. The fact that they are making money off of the anorexic woman and that they have other sickly thin models discredits them a little bit.
Doesn't the general public already know about the dangers of advertising? I think that an anorexic person looking at this already has such a distorted view of reality, that images like this are dangerous for them to see. It is a constant struggle of never being skinny enough. Who, really, is the audience for this ad, the general public who already have an awareness of this or people suffering? Who is it really serving to see this ad?
This is definately not the right way to fight against anorexia....I think it was made to get attention for profit. That's just how business is run. Sad...
The idea that this ad is trying to contribute to society by showing the dangers of anorexia is laughable. It's about money. It's always about money.
I agree with Elizabeth. While it does make its point, the ad could come off as mocking the disease. This is a social issue that is a huge problem and there must be a better way to make a stand. There are alternative ways to making a profit.
First, I think the ad succeeded in provoking conversation. At the same time, the ad could have been presented differently to have a similar effect.
I don't think the role of advertisers is to define the norm of what is beautiful or tell us what is healthy. We may see images of unhealthy people, but it stems from an industry that includes models, designers, photographers, etc. who also choose what we see.
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