This is a site about beauty representations and body images within the media and a broader view on how it causes anorexia with its unrealistic models ect ect...
while this artical is about film, magazine covers, models and advertising, im only going to be focusing on the advertising part for my project but feel free to read the rest... its a very interesting article about the sterotypes of women in the media.
"Why are standards of beauty being imposed on women, the majority of whom are naturally larger and more mature than any of the models? The roots, some analysts say, are economic. By presenting an ideal difficult to achieve and maintain, the cosmetic and diet product industries are assured of growth and profits. And it’s no accident that youth is increasingly promoted, along with thinness, as an essential criterion of beauty. If not all women need to lose weight, for sure they’re all aging, says the Quebec Action Network for Women’s Health in its 2001 report Changements sociaux en faveur de la diversité des images corporelles. And, according to the industry, age is a disaster that needs to be dealt with."
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Fact's On Advertising
The average woman sees 400 to 600 advertisements per day, and by the time she is 17 years old, she has received over 250,000 commercial messages through the media. Only 9% of commercials have a direct statement about beauty, but many more implicitly emphasize the importance of beauty-particularly those that target women and girls. One study of Saturday morning toy commercials found that 50% of commercials aimed at girls spoke about physical attractiveness, while none of the commercials aimed at boys referred to appearance. Other studies found 50% of advertisements in teen girl magazines and 56% of television commercials aimed at female viewers used beauty as a product appeal. This constant exposure to female-oriented advertisements may influence girls to become self-conscious about their bodies and to obsess over their physical appearance as a measure of their worth.
Advertisements emphasize thinness as a standard for female beauty, and the bodies idealized in the media are frequently atypical of normal, healthy women. Some researchers believe that advertisers purposely normalize unrealistically thin bodies, in order to create an unattainable desire that can drive product consumption. "The media markets desire. And by reproducing ideals that are absurdly out of line with what real bodies really do look like…the media perpetuates a market for frustration and disappointment. Its customers will never disappear," writes Paul Hamburg, an assistant professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Women frequently compare their bodies to those they see around them, and researchers have found that exposure to idealized body images lowers women's satisfaction with their own attractiveness. One study found that people who were shown slides of thin models (EG. L'Oreal) had lower self-evaluations than people who had seen average and oversized models (EG. Dove) and girls reported in a Body Image Survey that "very thin" models made them feel insecure about themselves. In a sample of Stanford undergraduate and graduate students, 68% felt worse about their own appearance after looking through women's magazines. Many health professionals are also concerned by the prevalence of distorted body image among women, which may be fostered by their constant self-comparison to extremely thin figures promoted in the media. 75% of "normal" weight women think they are overweight and 90% of women overestimate their body size.
Advertisements emphasize thinness as a standard for female beauty, and the bodies idealized in the media are frequently atypical of normal, healthy women. Some researchers believe that advertisers purposely normalize unrealistically thin bodies, in order to create an unattainable desire that can drive product consumption. "The media markets desire. And by reproducing ideals that are absurdly out of line with what real bodies really do look like…the media perpetuates a market for frustration and disappointment. Its customers will never disappear," writes Paul Hamburg, an assistant professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Women frequently compare their bodies to those they see around them, and researchers have found that exposure to idealized body images lowers women's satisfaction with their own attractiveness. One study found that people who were shown slides of thin models (EG. L'Oreal) had lower self-evaluations than people who had seen average and oversized models (EG. Dove) and girls reported in a Body Image Survey that "very thin" models made them feel insecure about themselves. In a sample of Stanford undergraduate and graduate students, 68% felt worse about their own appearance after looking through women's magazines. Many health professionals are also concerned by the prevalence of distorted body image among women, which may be fostered by their constant self-comparison to extremely thin figures promoted in the media. 75% of "normal" weight women think they are overweight and 90% of women overestimate their body size.
Doves 'Real Women' Campaign
When the Dove team decided to use real women instead of professional models to launch its new Firming range, it was clear that this was going be no ordinary advertising campaign. With a refreshing take on beauty, a celebrity photographer, and real women with real curves, the promotion had all the ingredients to get people talking. Through clever use of public relations, Dove managed to achieve massive media coverage, including a national debate on body shapes.
The Objective
Drive sales of the new "firming" range and strike a blow for women's self-esteem.
The Insight
We researched beauty advertising, women’s attitudes to their body shapes, and which celebrity role models they most admired. We found that women felt intimidated and depressed by the prevalence of 'stick-thin' models. This gave us the insight we needed to launch a campaign women can relate to, and build a story for the media.
The Concept
Rejecting the 'airbrush treatment' that we've come to expect from beauty advertising, Dove would feature ordinary women of all shapes and sizes, and photograph them in their underwear.
The first groundbreaking campaign proved so popular that Dove decided to conduct a nationwide search for the next group of 'Firm Friends' – The Sun was given the exclusive. Using regional press, women were then invited to apply, and nine groups of women were shortlisted. Five friends from Portsmouth, calling themselves 'The Mermaids', were chosen as the winners and appeared in the next campaign.
But the stripping didn’t end there. Giving the campaign another twist, Dove’s own marketing team were the next group to (almost) bare all. It was a natural step. After finally being exposed to real women on posters, the public got to see the real women behind the posters.
The Objective
Drive sales of the new "firming" range and strike a blow for women's self-esteem.
The Insight
We researched beauty advertising, women’s attitudes to their body shapes, and which celebrity role models they most admired. We found that women felt intimidated and depressed by the prevalence of 'stick-thin' models. This gave us the insight we needed to launch a campaign women can relate to, and build a story for the media.
The Concept
Rejecting the 'airbrush treatment' that we've come to expect from beauty advertising, Dove would feature ordinary women of all shapes and sizes, and photograph them in their underwear.
The first groundbreaking campaign proved so popular that Dove decided to conduct a nationwide search for the next group of 'Firm Friends' – The Sun was given the exclusive. Using regional press, women were then invited to apply, and nine groups of women were shortlisted. Five friends from Portsmouth, calling themselves 'The Mermaids', were chosen as the winners and appeared in the next campaign.
But the stripping didn’t end there. Giving the campaign another twist, Dove’s own marketing team were the next group to (almost) bare all. It was a natural step. After finally being exposed to real women on posters, the public got to see the real women behind the posters.
Eva Longoria & Perfect Slim
So L'Oreal used Eva Longoria to appear in their Perfect Slim Advert. Young women all over the world would kill to look like her and this advert is basically saying "buy this product and you will look like this." Do you really think Eva uses this? Even though its a bestseller are customers actually really satisfied? Do they trust L'Oreal? Or isit the language and image of these role models that consumers trust?
Watchdog Criticizes L'Oreal
The UK's advertising watchdog has criticised L'Oreal for making "misleading" claims about its cellulite creams.
The watchdog upheld complaints about a TV advert which claimed L'Oreal's Perfect Slim cellulite cream had been "judged best anti-cellulite product in an independent study (based on an independent French consumer study)".
The advert had also claimed the cream "visibly reduces the appearance of cellulite (48 women tested; 71% agree)."
An ASA expert found that L'Oreal's consumer study was limited and was not scientifically evaluated.
The watchdog concluded viewers would think the product could eliminate or reduce cellulite but this was not backed up by evidence.
In its judgement, the ASA ruled: "Because the evidence produced was below the standard that would be expected to back up claims relating to physiological action, we did not believe it was sufficient to support the claim that the product could help banish cellulite."
Trials carried out by L'Oreal showed the average improvement was NOT noticeable to the user, and that half of those using the product had not registered the improvement claimed, the ASA said.
It ruled that the Perfect Slim commercial must not be shown again without "sufficient evidence" to back up its claims.
But L'Oreal said both commercials had been approved by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre on the basis of the "technical substantiation of the product benefits".
It added in a statement: "Both L'Oreal Paris Wrinkle-De-Crease and Perfect Slim have been very popular with customers, demonstrated not just by their overall sales, but also the repeat purchases.
"In addition, research that was presented to the ASA shows a high rate of satisfaction for both products: 84% for Perfect Slim.
"Although we disagree with the elements of the complaint that were upheld, L'Oreal will comply with the ruling of the Advertising Standards Authority and adapt future advertisements accordingly."
The watchdog upheld complaints about a TV advert which claimed L'Oreal's Perfect Slim cellulite cream had been "judged best anti-cellulite product in an independent study (based on an independent French consumer study)".
The advert had also claimed the cream "visibly reduces the appearance of cellulite (48 women tested; 71% agree)."
An ASA expert found that L'Oreal's consumer study was limited and was not scientifically evaluated.
The watchdog concluded viewers would think the product could eliminate or reduce cellulite but this was not backed up by evidence.
In its judgement, the ASA ruled: "Because the evidence produced was below the standard that would be expected to back up claims relating to physiological action, we did not believe it was sufficient to support the claim that the product could help banish cellulite."
Trials carried out by L'Oreal showed the average improvement was NOT noticeable to the user, and that half of those using the product had not registered the improvement claimed, the ASA said.
It ruled that the Perfect Slim commercial must not be shown again without "sufficient evidence" to back up its claims.
But L'Oreal said both commercials had been approved by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre on the basis of the "technical substantiation of the product benefits".
It added in a statement: "Both L'Oreal Paris Wrinkle-De-Crease and Perfect Slim have been very popular with customers, demonstrated not just by their overall sales, but also the repeat purchases.
"In addition, research that was presented to the ASA shows a high rate of satisfaction for both products: 84% for Perfect Slim.
"Although we disagree with the elements of the complaint that were upheld, L'Oreal will comply with the ruling of the Advertising Standards Authority and adapt future advertisements accordingly."
L'Oreal VS Dove Sun Tan Lotion
Which of these adverts is more appealing?
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