To think the are you beach body ready ads should not have been banned.

[RogerTheAlien]

I believed up in till earlier today that the ads were awful but my colleague changed my mind.

He argument was that brands will always put a skinny model or beautiful person on their ads.

If that makes you self conscious then so would the skinny and beautiful people in real life.

I don't like the ads but I can't see why that ad caused such uproar when similar ads have been around for ages. I today saw an advert promoting milkshake with a topless man that said 'Aussies suck'.

I think we need to except that people naturally aspire to look a certain way.

I don't know whether the company's Twitter responses were pure genius or stupid but they definitely got publicity.

I didn't find the ads offensive or really understand the uproar over them.

I just thought "ha, no!" when I saw them as I'm currently heavily pregnant and even at my usual size, I don't look like that model.

Britain is rapidly losing sight of what healthy actually looks likes.

We need to accept that naturally skinny does look better. I'm sorry but we are not meant to be obese or overweight we at that age are meant to look like (or similar) to that girl.

I don't think she is unhealthy, what I do think is that we are seeing slim more and more badly.

I also think we need to look at the target market for the ad. Probably unders 30s who are already relatively thin trying to improve their bodies for the summer. I don't think it's aimed at overweight people.

But the product doesn't work.

I thought she looked great, and I personally do agree that a healthy, slim body looks more attractive.

But the use of the word "ready" was problematic. Weight should have no bearing whatsoever on ones plans to go to the beach. Fat people shouldn't be made to feel unwelcome in public.

I advert did not say "fat people unwelcome did it".

Well, it's gone now.

Well yes, it did IMO.

If thin and toned = ready to go the beach and be seen in a bikini, then it isn't too much to extrapolate that fat and wobbly = not ready to go to the beach and be seen in a bikini.

But many women who have had children are never going to be "beach ready"

After a couple if babies few women will have a perfect "beach ready" body, even if they are a healthy, attractive weight.

But the ad wasn't promoting 'healthy', the ad was selling a supposed weight loss product (on dubious grounds, acc the ASA) with the usual hackneyed, objectified image of a barely-clad woman whose body we are supposed to aspire to. I'm 'healthy' - well within a healthy BMI, aerobically fit, seldom ill - but I don't look like that.

I thought the woman in the ad looked really good too. Nothing like me, I'm very short and have been pregnant for a million years but her body didn't offend me. I'd like to look as lean and toned as her.

The ad actually made me think about my diet and exercise once this baby is out.

I'm glad the ad has gone.
Sick of the media bombardment of women's bodies and the emphasis on women's appearances.

I have no problem with it to be honest. Although I do have a problem with the weight loss claims. I work within the fitness industry and a protein shake and a few tablets isn't going to help people lose fat or look like that. Its getting very tiresome and these sorts of claims are ruining the industry.

I have just been to Body Power Expo. One stand had a huge advert with a naked man stepping off the tube (his bits were blurred) as their advert with similar wording (can't remember the wording exactly) I have seen them use this photo before and no one bats an eyelid.

Within the fitness industry, most adverts include partially dressed people. Men and women. The customers (who these are aimed at) responds well to it. People who are into fitness enough to buy supplements are wanting to look like the adverts.

I saw the advert on the underground and didn't pay that much attention to it apart from "Urgh that's alot of yellow"

It's advertising guff anyway. Go to any beach in Italy, Spain, Portugal, many other popular holiday destinations and the REALITY is that all shapes and sizes are there, not looking self conscious at all. IME.

OP, did you actually join MN just to start a row about fat people v skinny people? Because you've posted fuck all else on the site.

It's becoming very tiresome the amount of people joining and jumping straight into AIBU to have a go.

Either a) you're new and looking to cause a row or b) you've namechanged and are looking to cause a row in a cowardly way.

Whisk I have namechanged because of a deeply emotional thread I posted. That's what name changing is for. I have been on Mumsnet for about 3 months

Not going to engage with any of the other posters then, no? Just me because I challenged your namechange.

Okaaaaay.

Yabu, The model lives on a diet of pea protein (apetitite suppressor) and berries. She is not a healthy weight.

I also hate the idea that all women should aspire to is looks.

It wouldn't matter if the OP was new, and had joined MN specifically to discuss something in the press she found debatable. Everyone starts somewhere.

I might not have agreed with the OP, but this is hardly The Goadiest Thread Of All Time.

It's not really goady at all its a sensible debate.

It's hardly a skinny vs fat thing either.

I hate that advert.

I also hate the advert where there is an insipid model saying how she hates her stretch marks and that they've ruined her life.
(think it's for bio oil or something similar)
I wish I could find a link

It's a horrible advert, for the simple reason that most women, whether they have had children or not, will get stretch marks somewhere on their body at sometime or another.
It must be something to do with our skin being softer and thinner - we can't help it. Same with cellulite.
The odd bit of cellulite here and there is what makes us female.

I hate that they (the advertisers) try to make women feel guilty and disgusted about things that we are predisposed to and is all part and parcel of being a woman.

Totally agree done