False Advertising

It would be ideal if we could construct an alternative method for advertisers to get our attention without using racist and/or sexist stereotypes. Is it possible? Definitely. Is it plausible? Maybe not. At the risk of sounding pessimistic, I don't think many advertisers today care enough about the well-being of our society to create advertisements that don't make us self conscious about our size, the color of our skin, the rate at which we age, etc. It's a risky business. Commercials that send the message to women that they are beautiful just the way they are might not be as successful as ones that tell them they need improvement (and this product can help!)

It is our responsibility to be aware of what these companies are trying to do, and be mindful of the fact that their images often do not reflect reality. As we agreed on during our class discussion, reaching kids at an early age and helping them deconstruct the negative messages that are constantly being thrown at us is a beautiful way to try to prevent the insecurities that these messages can create. For instance, teaching girls at an early age to love their bodies and skin color instead of criticizing themselves for not looking like the (mostly photoshopped) images they see on TV and in magazines has a better chance of being effective than going straight to the advertisers and demanding that they change the way they do business. In an ideal world, enough people would instill these values in their children to create a society in which ads that rely on our insecurities just don't appeal to most people, and therefore are no longer profitable.

Some companies have tried to include a bigger demographic in their ads for the sake of being progressive, but the result is often offensive. American Apparel, for instance, recently launched their Next Big Thing contest, in an effort to find "curvaceous bods" for their new "XL styles". The fact that they declined to have extra large sizes in the first place is offensive enough as it is, but their contest comes off as a cheap attempt to objectify plus size women, in addition to the size zeros shamelessly sexualized in their ads in an effort to sell hoodies.

Here is a snippet from their website during their contest campaign:

Think you are the Next BIG Thing?
Calling curvy ladies everywhere! Our best-selling Disco Pant (and around 10 other sexy styles) are now available in size XL, for those of us who need a little extra wiggle room where it counts. We're looking for fresh faces (and curvaceous bods) to fill these babies out. If you think you've got what it takes to be the next XLent model, send us photos of you and your junk to back it up.

These ridiculous size references, the wording, and the fact that there are only 21 items for women in the "XL & Larger" category on their website, makes this potentially progressive campaign seem like a complete sham. Nice try, American Apparel.

It is hard to give these kinds of companies the enough credit to believe that a world with alternative advertising is possible. For the foreseeable future, there will be tons of negative messages in advertising that confuse impressionable youths and shame them for not looking, feeling or acting a certain way. As Susan Douglas states in her introduction to Where the Girls Are, "...the mass media helped make us the cultural schizophrenics we are today, women who rebel against yet submit to prevailing images about what a desirable, worthwhile woman should be" (8). It is better to expose children to the intentions of advertisers, and the falsities and contradictions that are being force fed to us in commercials, rather than cross our fingers and hope that everyone comes to their senses.