Real women have curves, and ads

[sugarimp]

Real women in their unretouched glory are rising stars in personal care and fashion ads, showing a different way to pitch beauty-related products.Big advertisers such as Nike and Wal-Mart have joined a real-women trend that took off in June with ads for Dove firming lotion that showed six curvy women wearing nothing but undies and smiles

Comments

[dodging_fate]

[I, for one, am getting sick of hearing "real women have curves". No, real women come in lots of different shapes and sizes, thank you very much.]

exactly. I have curves... the waitress who served me yesterday at Denny's doesn't... both of us are lovely, imho.

[shaydlip]

I agree. One doesn't need to put down another body type (in this case, Kate Moss), in order to feel good about ones own body type.

[dodging_fate]

:)

When I read things like this article, I'm seeing yet another 'trend where nothing else will do' develop... and I simply don't like it. But, then again, it's up to me to be happy with my own body and not let the media influence me so much. This also seems like a manipulation (though it can be argued that all advertising is) to make me feel as though I *belong* and they *understand* me so I should buy-buy-buy-away!!!

[shaydlip]

You have no idea how much being able to relate to a customer helps a sales pitch. That's exactly what it is. It is different for what you're marketing though. If you're marketing something like a handbag or things that cost way too much, such as couture, you use impossible-looking models becuase it creates an unattainable desire for most people, which is why they can charge so much money for that stuff.
For something like Dove or Nike, they are marketing to a totally different group, and so it is better for them to A) have someone who is famous (i.e. Halle Berry doing Clairol or whatever she does) do thier marketing so people can look like the unattainable, or B) go with this real women have curves thing to have relatability.

[djg5]

It just seems this move toward "real" women is just another way to cash in on unnecessary beauty products, and while I disagree with that motive, I'm at least happy that young women are able to see healthy people in ads who have realistic bodies shapes and sizes.

DJ

[elven_wolf]

You took the words right out of my fingers. They're still promoting an ideal of 'beauty' that by its very nature is unnatural. But yeah, in a way I'm glad they're trying to be more realistic in that sense.

[idealforcolors]

My reaction depends on the ads. The Dove ones annoy me because they're still trying to get you to buy a useless product (their lotion is apparently supposed to address cellulite, but makes no promises that it can do anything). The Nike ones are better because, well, I think they're more fun to look at, and they generally promote a strong and active lifestyle rather than any specific product that will make you more beautiful. (The poems can be a little stupid, but I'll forgive that.)

[sianni55]

i find the whole thing interesting in that these real women are blatantly models from the plus size sector of the industry or else the girl next door side. so you're not using kate moss - these girls are still hardely average janes from the street :S

but i do like the dove ads all the same - theyre cute and smile worthy. nike is just gross but its all personal preference.

i'm real i'm real!!! use me (oh i just remembered i don't have curves therefore i must be an illusion)

Not that I believe everything that I read...

[_paegan_]

...but, according to the msnbc article, these women are not profession models.

Re: Not that I believe everything that I read...

[sianni55]

my mistake.

i'm pretty sure they are now though. that campaign was massive anyone could build a career off the back of it. meh whatever. its a pretty nice add all the same

[caatinga]

This makes me consider the backlash to this movement, which I wouldn't give longer than 12 months. After this, are we going to see even more emaciation and heroin-eye-socket?

Another interesting thing I noticed is that, for me (how do I say this?), the ads definitely felt more voyeuristic. Seeing those imperfections laid out on the page and having them acknowledged by the header (Real women have curves-look, some of these women are kind of fat! And that one has a happy trail! And that one's tattoo is even more ridiculous than yours!) seems like in some ways merely exploitation of a different stripe, this time of flaws. They're still deployed as things that fall short of an ideal, otherwise the campaign isn't effective. Like many others have mentioned, this all comes down to the money.

Still, given a choice, I'd rather have my (imaginary, praise Jesus) 10 year old daughter be exposed to these images and not the Kate Moss type. That way she could go straight to consuming the product and skip the throwing up after meals.

[corporis_ossa]

Haha, I love that last point you make.