Protein World "beach body" adverts

[RunkyJam]

Anyone else raging about these?

I've complained to the ASA and just signed a petition taking off over at change.org

www.change.org/p/proteinworld-arjun-seth-remove-are-you-beach-body-ready-advertisements

Absolutely BONKERS this was approved IMO.

criticising the advert does not mean criticising the model. i don't give a shit what the model herself looks like, she didn't design the advert. i hope she is very comfortable in her own skin as that's all i want for any woman. i do give a shit that women are told that there are things they need to do to be "beach body ready" other than turn up on a beach

Well in 2013 the rate of obesity for men was higher than for women. So I'd say we need to get at least 50% of the pressure for weightloss onto men's shoulders. Y'know, for our health.

Anyone seen an ad advertising a weight loss product with a picture of a man telling him to get his beach body ready?

Anyone read any good summer crash diet plans to look good in your shorts in GQ, or the FT (lol) recently?

Actually hapshawl some people have been criticising the models body! Pointing out that she may have silicone breasts etc. what's hat got to do with the issues at hand?

There have been comments about her breasts, being a stick insect, been too thin and 'the model would be quite pretty....If she smiled'

That's not correct. Women have ALWAYS had a higher obesity rate than men, but men have been catching up, and it's now equal. www.noo.org.uk/NOO_about_obesity/adult_obesity/UK_prevalence_and_trends

More men are overweight (BMI 25-30) than women, but that range is not the unhealthy one, it's 30+ (obesity) that is associated with health problems.

And um,
www.healthforthewholeself.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/mens-health-magazine.jpg
www.gq.com/blogs/the-feed/2014/06/best-ab-workout-beach-season.html

etc.

This company is marketing protein products to women. Most of these sorts of supplements are marketed at men.

I'm confused. I don't see the issue?

Its a weight loss product. They won't convince us it works with pictures of an overweight model.

Yes it makes us feel like sh*t to see those adverts but there are lots of adverts like it that we don't complain about.

Is it the 'beach body' line that offends people? But for years people have been talking of dieting for their beach holidays

Yy Shaska. We have two blokes who attend my slimming world group. The one who started attending just after Christmas is the one i was chatting to towards the end of class a fortnight ago. He said to me " i dont know how you women cope with all the pressure on your looks. He also said how men are starting to feel the pressure now but ackowledged that women have felt that pressure for decades.

Thank you Shewept awful isn't it... Nasty comments are unneeded and also all the swearing I've seen. Can people not make a point without profanity and name calling?

Jobless Years ago i knew a young couple where the guy was a "healthy weight" And his female partner was overweight. They were both working full time but she was doing all the housework cooking and cleaning as well. He would go to the gym and/or running at night. And would moan at her for letting herself go. But would he parent his own kids so that she could go out and do something about it? Take a guess!!!

After they spilt she was able to find time to take care of herself while it was his turn to have the DC. And she lost weight and got fit.

This isnt me btw I dont have DC.

But ive seen a few threads about this on the Relationships board. I suspect it goes on in a lot of homes.

I had eating disorders in my late teens and early twenty's. Images were not a trigger it was all about how I felt and how I wanted to feel.
My disorders calmed down when I became a mum and I now have two girls aged 17 and 21. They luckily have grown into confident strong women.

But I can honestly say that this ad does not bother me, most ads you see are unrealistic and this is no worse than others. A weight loss product is unlikely to show an overweight person.

Teacher no one should be body shamed whatever their shape or size.

Another point Take a read of the dating threads Suggestions to meet up for a coffee and cake date etc.

IN RL ive heard men say that women who pick at their food and calorie count on a date are miserable. And that they should lighten up And yet the same men expect you to indulge in a takeaway and cake with them but God forbid if you go over a size 10. And yes ive heard the same men actually say they expect this.

I think the thing that is really galling is the way the ad implies that a woman isn't 'entitled' to show herself on a beach unless she achieves the standard shown in the poster. I accept people will always want to look slim and attractive, but there is something about the idea that any (WOMAN) who doesn't measure up should hide away and not force others to view her repulsive and inadequate figure. That is why I particularly loathe this ad.

i'm built for comfort not for speed (a couple of stone could do with shifting) but i'm not offended with the advert.

i think she looks ok, and yes i'd love to look like that, but i'm not in my 20s and i know its very unlikely...

a lot of women/men i know get 'ready for the beach' myself included... few more visits to the gym, eating a little less....

Helena are you saying that a lot of women who are overweight are overweight because they have crap husbands? Really?

but who actually thinks "i cant go on the beach unless i look like that"? Only people who already have body issues or on the verge of having them?

interesting comment on the Independent article

www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/youre-just-jealous-and-other-common-misconceptions-about-the-protein-world-bikini-advert-10209213.html

find it deeply offensive that nobody claiming that this advert should be banned, has named the model.

To me this just treats the girl as a piece of meat to be discussed, chewed over and cast away (presumably too lean for their tastes).

Did they ask her about her grueling fitness regime and the efforts and sacrifices she makes, did they ask about the financial impact banning this add would have on her future earnings, and other the earnings of other girls like her?

Did the ask about her feelings, how she feels about her body being judged this way...no all their cared about was how it affected them and the cause they champion.

Well done to the girl in the poster....you look great.

jobless I stand corrected on the obesity rate - interesting that they are equal though, and does still back up my point.

Also very interesting the links you chose. I wouldn't deny that men are pressured about their bodies. However my issue with the ad is the idea of 'thin-ness' being desirable. It is not a fitness supplement - it's a weight loss one. Whereas both your links are more about fitness and muscle definition. Possibly for vanity reasons rather than health, yes - but exercise is good for the body in and of itself. Weight loss, unless you're obese, not so much.

The first link is particularly interesting. 'Build A Beach Body'. Note the 'build'. Men are encouraged to be more. To take up space. To grow and define muscle. Women, on the other hand - encouraged to shrink.

I could go further into this but it's not really the place. The way the idea of men needing to grow and women to shink is presented in the media and advertising in all sorts of subtle ways is fascinating to me.

The problem is the 'are you beach body ready' slogan, combined with the image. It suggests, in a highly toxic and old-fashioned way, that women are simply there to look good for an (implicitly male) viewer. And that, if they are not, they should cover up.

The fact that the message is internalised, and plays on insecurities, is testament to the way in which women still today suffer from discriminatory gender messaging.

Now before someone completely clueless posts a picture of a male model in similar pose - IT IS DIFFERENT. Due to the fact that there is a history of, uh, around 3000 years of women losing out massively due to being treated as nothing more than possessions/objects for the male gaze. There isn't a symmetry between the genders culturally or historically, and there so there isn't one in terms of visual politics either.

It has nothing to do with health AT ALL: the product is not 'healthy'. It's not a goddamn advert for an apple, FFS.

Dragon the model yesterday said she felt body shamed, that people were saying her showing her body is offensive. And she is right.

But apparently it shouldn't bother her.

The thing that gets me is women who are outraged are indulging in the behaviour they claim protein world are. She is a model and a fitness model, but it's offensive to use her body for advertising.

Do special k, slim fast, Cambridge diet and their models and celeb endorsers come in for this amount of crap?

i disagree - i think looking good is for yourself - i look in the mirror and dont like what i see, not because thats what other people see, but because i dont like it

Actually Shasta it terms of the fitness industry, you are way behind. The fitness industry is actually more focused on women not eating a low calorie diet and gaining muscle. Even when trying to lose fat.

And I entirely disagree with shove . For lots of women out there fat loss is for themselves.

Why shouldn't this models body be used? Because it looks aesthetically pleasing? What body type would you prefer to see on a poster for a weight loss product?

Wait just a second - talk about twisting your words to make a trap for knaves and fools - I did not say for one minute that women couldn't lose weight for themselves. I said that there was a problem with telling women they couldn't go on a beach because they didn't look good enough FOR MEN.

The message of this poster is not 'feel good for yourself'. FFS.

This is like feminism 101. I would expect 16 year old girls to understand it.

Sorry but I'm not talking about the fitness industry, just as I'm not talking about what it's like if you're inside the fat acceptance movement, what body messages you're receiving there.

I'm talking about the day to day, mainstream, tube ads and magazines world. Interesting though, as of course this product presumably crosses into the fitness world- but for the mainstream audience they didn't choose a 'tone up for the beach' protein powder. They chose the weight loss message.

It suggests, in a highly toxic and old-fashioned way, that women are simply there to look good for an (implicitly male) viewer.

Because there's absolutely no way, that a woman who wants to look good, might want to do it for her own sake, right? It must be for the benefit of men?

Cross post.
I said that there was a problem with telling women they couldn't go on a beach because they didn't look good enough FOR MEN.

The poster says this where?

MrNoseybank, I am guessing you are not an art historian and do not have much experience at all about the extensive history that there is around gender and visuality.

For whom, exactly, is this woman supposed to look good? Give you a clue - the visual 'language' of the poster suggests it is very much NOT FOR HER.