Real grandstanding?

27th May 2007

posted in Body Image, Fat Acceptance, Health/Nutrition, Pop Culture |

Greetings from Times Square New York City!

Okay, so not literally. But we did spend the day yesterday in New York, beginning and ending in fantabulous Times Square, long a Mecca of larger-than-life, high-definition advertising bombarding hundreds of thousands of people daily.

One of static billboards, though by far not the largest, featured an advertisement for Unilever brand SlimFast, makers of the liquid diet drink and international champions of exploiting women’s insecurities about their bodies.

Two larger-than-average smiling women cavort across a white screen, with the words “we believe in hips not hip bones” emblazoned in print larger than a semi truck. The implication is that women needn’t necessarily wear a size two, but should strive instead for their own healthy size – which, hopefully for SlimFast, is a size two. Or zero.

SlimFast appears to be following the trend of its other parent company-owned brand, Dove, which hawks its anti-cellulite “firming lotion” using full-figured models and its “Pro-Age” lotion featuring wrinkled but still stunningly beautiful older women.

SlimFast’s move comes just as Unilever announced this month that it will not use models or actors that are either “excessively slim or promote unhealthy slimness,” says Unilever home and personal care division president Ralph Kugler.

But is Unilever’s marketing tactic intended to promote healthier body images, or to fatten their pocketbooks?

Let’s consider. Why would any anyone believe a 5-foot-9-inch supermodel would need to use anti-cellulite cream, let alone lose weight on a liquid chalk diet? As a Dove ad itself reads, “Firming the thighs of a size 2 supermodel is no challenge.”

Advertising doesn’t merely sell a product, it sells an image, a lifestyle, a vision. Consumers look at advertisements and mentally replace the model with images of themselves. That connection becomes a little difficult to make when an anorectic-sized model bounces around on stage proclaiming how she lost scads of weight drinking diet shakes with a sensible dinner.

Shrinking the size of a beaming prom queen is no challenge. Reducing the weight of a middle-age, overweight mom with stretch marks and sagging breasts is.

Don’t get me wrong: Unilever’s moves reflect a positive sign signaling that companies are realizing the bottom-line benefits of making women feel good about themselves. Making a fat person feel like crap because she is fat is never an encouraging weight-loss motivator.

But before we laud the companies like Unilever for its revolutionary foresight and radical new marketing tactics, we need to consider the ulterior motives driving such strategies. Amongst all the humanitarian, feel-good, sing-it-sister ad copy, it’s easy to forget that Unilever is selling something and it isn’t altruism.

Both firming cream and diet shake drinks are “problem” products, designed to play off women’s insecurities with their bodies. It’s somewhat inconsistent to encourage women to feel good about their bodies and themselves while simultaneously selling them a product which makes women feel bad about themselves.

Size acceptance is great, however not when it parodies as deception.

Click to Bookmark

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 27th, 2007 at 11:11 pm and is filed under Body Image, Fat Acceptance, Health/Nutrition, Pop Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1 On May 28th, 2007, Charlynn

said:

You so very nailed this one. It’s all about selling a product that doesn’t really work. Despite the better tactics in the ad campaigns, that’s all Unilever is doing - trying to make a few bucks off the promise that their products will fulfill people’s wishes to look better.

posted on May 28th, 2007 at 7:44 pm

2 On May 29th, 2007, Elastic Waist

Companies will always be trying to sell products, and we’re smart to stay attuned to their bottom line. But still…isn’t it kind of great to see real women’s bodies in Times Square?

posted on May 29th, 2007 at 3:30 pm

3 On June 5th, 2007, msempower

So well written, so true.

And, it’s interesting to see Unilever’s Campaign for Real Beauty throughout the world. It’s much harder hitting abroad than in the U.S., in my humble opinion. Outside of the U.S., the campaign focuses more on eating disorder prevention than it does in the United States.

I don’t know off hand what their percentage pre-tax giving ratio is, however, I am pretty sure that Unilever is one of the only companies in this country that actively addresses the issue of eating disorders.

And, how I wish they would get rid of some of their other mega-brands, e.g. the one’s that can support eating disorder development.

posted on June 5th, 2007 at 5:35 am

4 On June 5th, 2007, Charlynn

Elastic Waist - Yes, it is better to see someone at least making an effort to show “real” women in their ads instead of an airbrushed version. But Unilever is still a company capitalizing on people’s insecurities about their bodies. For example, if women weren’t concerned with maintaining a youthful appearance, would they be selling and marketing eye cream? No. It’s all about selling a product based on the supposed “need” to use such a product.

On a different note, Unilever is one of the largest American companies conducting animal testing on their products. For that reason alone, I refuse to buy anything with their name on it.

posted on June 5th, 2007 at 8:41 am

5 On April 28th, 2008, 10 Questions for Kristin ‘Lou’ Herout » The-F-Word.org said:

[...] think that campaigns such as the “Dove True Beauty Campaign” are commonly more hurtful than helpful. If this campaign, women are shown as being proud of [...]

posted on April 28th, 2008 at 1:05 pm

6 On April 28th, 2008, Curvy women photographed like thin models » The Curvy Life said:

[...] think that campaigns such as the “Dove True Beauty Campaign” are commonly more hurtful than helpful. If this campaign, women are shown as being proud of who [...]

posted on April 28th, 2008 at 8:42 pm

7 On May 27th, 2008, Cellulite: The Great Female Equalizer » The-F-Word.org said:

[...] you’re hoping for a miracle in a jar (hello Dove), think again. According to Alan Kling, MD, a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at Mount [...]

posted on May 27th, 2008 at 8:00 am