Dove is at it again with their campaign for real beauty, currently airing several different parts of the campaign. Or not airing, as the case is with their Pro Age ad. Six over-50 gorgeous women do their best 'calender girl' homage in the latest ad posing buck naked in the ad, which is banned from airing because - get this - it "shows too much skin". Seems the TV ads don't adhere to FCC regulations.
GettyImages blog says:
This whole debacle is fascinating to me on two fronts. 1) How can it be that Ms. Spears is allowed to gyrate in a bikini top on MTV with a snake whilst singing "I'm a slave for you" to 12 year olds, but 50-something women are not allowed to be shown sans clothes in what I would argue is a completely tasteful, if not downright elegant manner? And 2) why is said "debacle" not more of a…well…debacle? The only mainstream coverage I was able to find on this was here, and that's on a Canadian news site.
It gets better - or worse - pro-family and women's groups are urging a boycott of Dove products for "contributing to the sexualization of women as a commercial tool, as well as exposing children to adult nudity."
The use of female nudity to sell products under any banner is exploitative of women's sexuality, opponents say, pointing out that Dove is "focusing on outward beauty and using nudity to do so. Their message basically says: 'Use our product and even if your body isn't perfect, our lotion will make you beautiful.'" It would be far more effective--and would express genuine respect for women--to pursue the campaign's goals presenting fully clothed women.Dove officials responded to one complainant with a statement defending the use of the images as "celebrating women 50+ and widening the definition of beauty to show that real beauty has no age limit."
"The advertising campaign is certainly not about nudity, but rather about honesty. . We didn't want to cover these women or enhance their appearances, because they are beautiful just as they are."
You can watch the ad at Dove.ca/proage.ca. The print ads are photographed by Annie Leibovitz and will run in womens magazines around the world since this is a global campaign.
Adage says:
Naked women in their 50s and 60s may be fine for Ladies' Home Journal or "Oprah" but apparently not for network TV. And while a ban on Dove's TV spots seems to be exactly what Unilever was looking for, the effort may be hamstrung because the brand didn't get a free ride on YouTube this time...
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Grab your torches and pitchforks!
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Permalink...or crow's-feet and hip-replacements.
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PermalinkPenn Jillette says he thinks everyone looks better naked. Penn says he would rather see anyone naked - including Ernest Borgnine. "Pro-family" and "women's" groups have a different opinion. Fine. When they say the Dove ads are, "...contributing to the sexualization of women as a commercial tool, as well as exposing children to adult nudity", and call for a boycott, "...until the ad campaign is pulled" I get angry. Opinion is one thing, censorship is another.
Each woman can decide for herself when it comes to the question of "sexualization" in the Dove (and any other) ads, and parents can decide how best to raise their children on their own. They don't need help from self-righteous, pro-censorship groups who claim to know what is best for women and children.
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PermalinkYou know what I like about these ads? The women are really attractive, and looking at the huge posters, I see pores, hairs, lumps bumps, the occasional vein and a wrinkle or ten, and they're still attractive. As someone who currently has marketing ask me to retouch sixteenyear-old models into flat dolls because 'they photograph old' this feels like a small revolution every time I walk past those posters.
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PermalinkFunny thing about lighting in photography, it creates the effect the photographer wants. Your task is to fix the errors committed by others - 'they photograph old'? Gads, those people ever see porn stars when 'photographed young', photoshop enhanced of course. Then again folks are used to seeing TV actors/news anchor/most all commercials toned into flat. That could be a technical reason they can't say out loud. Ok, that was my 2-cents since I do not know a thing about the motive. Lastly, I still have to remind a certain dancer that 40+ figure is not a horror show. Nice to see an attempt to de-teenybop an ad.
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PermalinkThere is nothing prettier in this world than a nekkid "girl"!
All but one of those girls are "too skinny" except for one, IMdumbO. :)
But since "all girls are pretty" and "all girls are pretty, all over"....
The first/top gal pictured is my favorite.
What do you think? :)
Penn Jillette is a fellow "doing his own thinking" libertarian, whatever he sez, I'll prob'ly agree with.
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PermalinkI'm making my comment as dumb as theirs:
How can people like that still be alive in a country with no gun control?
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PermalinkFINALLY a product that really works and is affordable!! AND this country banns it because of NUDITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT is wrong with this government or country....There is so much nudity in all of television. I do not understand how they can be so biased. My gosh I am so really upset ...I love this product and it is so hard to find it and gosh the freaking shipping charges are more than what the product costs!!! Will we ever get a freaking break.!!
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