Eating Disorders Blog

This week, documentary filmmaker Darryl Roberts spearheaded a major boycott against Ralph Lauren Polo in Chicago, New York and San Francisco. Roberts and supporters boycotted Ralph Lauren stores in the three cities in an effort to protest unhealthy advertising images recently utilized by the company.

The controversy began in October when the company ran an ad featuring a photo of model Filippa Hamilton that had been photoshopped to make her look grotesquely thin. Although Lauren eventually apologized for the poor retouching job on the photo, the company has since run two more ads featuring extremely thin-looking models.

Roberts comments: "Ralph Lauren apologized for the first image of Fillipa Hamilton that was photoshopped ... but later he was caught with a second image and a third image. If he was truly sorry, why didn't he pull the additional ads when he apologized for the first one? So it seems that his company has an apologize-as-we-get-caught philosophy.

"The reason that we're boycotting is that we want him to commit to never putting out another ad that's egregious and offensive to young women and girls again. No more empty apologies from Mr. Lauren. We want a firm commitment that he'll never use ads that are disrespectful and egregious again."

YWCA of America supports Roberts in his boycotting efforts. Lorraine Cole, Ph.D., CEO of YWCA of America, comments: "The relentless marketing of so-called 'beauty' in the Ralph Lauren ads is alienating to all who don't meet ... those artificial standards of 'ideal.' It is time that we ignite a cultural change in this country to end the pursuit of the elusive beauty myth, starting with a boycott of those companies that disregard the self-esteem, health and human worth of the women and girls whose dollars they seek."

(Source: www.prnewswire.com)

Labels: model, advertisements

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Recently, a member of the French Parliament drafted a new law which would require digitally altered photographs used in advertising to be labeled. The law is designed to highlight what some call the "fakery" involved in creating advertising images, and to help combat unattainable and unhealthy ideals regarding the human body.

The Parliament member, Valerie Boyer, is a 47-year-old mother of two who became interested in the idea of labeling altered photographs because of her relationship with her children. Ms. Boyer sees the portrayal of the human body in media and advertising as a serious subject, and one that has a far-reaching impact on society.

Ms. Boyer commented: "I got interested in the subject of the body because it's really a mother's reflection. It's the closeness I have to adolescents that drove me to become interested in these subjects.

"If someone wants to make life a success, wants to feel good in their skin, wants to be part of society, one has to be thin or skinny, and then it's not enough -- one will have his body transformed with software that alters the image, so we enter a standardized and brainwashed world, and those who aren't part of it are excluded from society."

(Source: www.nytimes.com)

Labels: body image, media, advertisements

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

A new study has found that seeing food ads on television can influence children to eat more while watching. The experiment, conducted by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale, monitored the behavior of 118 children, ages 7 to 11. The children were each given bowls of Goldfish crackers and left alone to watch a 14-minute cartoon. During commercial breaks, some of the children were shown advertisements for games and entertainment, while other children watched four advertisements for unhealthy snacks, such as waffle sticks with syrup, fruit roll-ups and potato chips.

The children who saw the food ads consumed 45 percent more Goldfish than the children who saw the entertainment commercials. Children viewing the food commercials consumed an average of 28.5 grams of Goldfish crackers, while children viewing entertainment commercials consumed 19.7 grams of Goldfish. Study authors said that the study suggests "a direct causal link between food advertising and greater snack consumption."

(Source: www.nytimes.com)

Labels: advertisements, kids, tv, eating

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments