Dove's new advertising campaign

[tinydancer]

Well, I did think it was funny when one day a tv station played the Dove commercial talked about here, and followed it with a Dove ice cream commercial!

[honeychile]

Originally posted by 33girl
The real insanity is a guy thinking size 10 is fat.

Men's sizing is so different than women's. They have a 30" waist, they buy pants in a 30" waist. A woman buys a size 10 in one brand, an 8 in another, and a 12 in another - there's no standardized sizing. Then, we have hips & boobs. Or in my case, don't have hips! By the time I find pants that fit the rest of me, I can fit a family of four in the seat of my pants!

I can remember having a discussion with the former concerning my sizes, and the totally confused look on his face! So, I'm just putting all of this down to ignorance of women's sizing.

[Rudey]

In one of the billboards that's huge, a black chick has what looks to be a very large tattoo on her thigh. Is it a tattoo or graffiti?

-Rudey

[xo_kathy]

Originally posted by Rudey
Isn't an 8 average?

Let's assume a 12 is average. If obesity rates are that high, then I don't think the average is anything you should want to approach.

I don't think you should have to put up with a hairy, fat, bald man in a speedo every day on large billboards throughout the city, and you probably don't since I haven't seen them in NY. I shouldn't have to put up with these gladiator women in granny panties every morning.

-Rudey

ehhh, not sure I agree with the logic on this one. I AM an 8 and I think I look pretty good. And judging by the looks I get from men while I walk down the street, I don't think they mind how I look either. So, just because I am the average size - which is considered healthy and normal by my doctors - you think I should be worried about becoming obese? So instead I should starve myself and stress out my mind and body to get to a size 4 - which, BTW, to me is unnattractive? I'm not accusing, I'm just trying to see if I've got your point.

And as for your concern with me having to look a hairy, fat, bald men, well, I do appreciate it! However, that is where I think men and women differ. Men will bitch and moan that their day is ruined because they are not looking at the most gorgeous woman in these ads. Women would see a "yucky" ad of some "ugly" man and just choose to not look at it when they walk by.

[sugar and spice]

A 12-14 is average, or at least was last time they took a significant poll -- which was, I believe, at least 5 years ago. It's probably grown larger since then.

A size 12 is not "obese." Sizes cannot be equated with weights, and obesity is only based off of weights. A girl with larger hips but a smaller top could easily be a size 12 and not even be overweight, let alone obese. Or a girl who is big all over and shops only at places that vanity size to the extreme could be a size 8 and be overweight.

Regardless of what size they are -- I doubt Dove is going to release height and weight statistics on these women, but given that I spent far too many years of my adolescence trying to eyeball heights and weights, I can 80 percent guarantee that not a single one of them would fall into the "obese" range. One or two might fall into the overweight range, but certainly none of them are carrying enough weight to land them in the obese category. None of them are overweight enough to be called unhealthy based on their weights alone (although their eating and exercise habits might pan out differently). And honestly, even if they were -- tons of the models used in regular ad campaigns are thin enough that they are endangering their health based on their weight alone, not even taking into account those who are starving themselves or using coke to stay that thin. So until we eradicate those models from marketing campaigns too, "Dove is promoting an unhealthy lifestyle!" is hardly a viable excuse.

[ZTABullwinkle]

I have to agree with all the previous posts about fitting in different sizes, because there is no standard.

I wore a size 16 when I weighed 180. Everyone tells me I don't look my weight (I appreciate that!) It is more than frustrating to try on clothes and have no idea what is going to fit. Need a xanax to go shopping sometimes. It is uber-frustrating.

[Taualumna]

I heard somewhere that even guys' clothes are going the way of vanity sizing. A size 34 pants might really fit someone who has a 36 inch waist in some stores!

I also agree that we can't say that a certain size is "anorexic" and another size is "obese". If you're 5' tall, a size 0 is just on the skinny side while a 10 may be verging on fat. All this vanity sizing is also causing really small people to be sized out of stores! Ten years ago, the smallest size at the Gap was a 1. It's now a 0, and the 0 is slightly bigger than it was two years ago.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by xo_kathy
ehhh, not sure I agree with the logic on this one. I AM an 8 and I think I look pretty good. And judging by the looks I get from men while I walk down the street, I don't think they mind how I look either. So, just because I am the average size - which is considered healthy and normal by my doctors - you think I should be worried about becoming obese? So instead I should starve myself and stress out my mind and body to get to a size 4 - which, BTW, to me is unnattractive? I'm not accusing, I'm just trying to see if I've got your point.

And as for your concern with me having to look a hairy, fat, bald men, well, I do appreciate it! However, that is where I think men and women differ. Men will bitch and moan that their day is ruined because they are not looking at the most gorgeous woman in these ads. Women would see a "yucky" ad of some "ugly" man and just choose to not look at it when they walk by.

Disclaimer: I don't know enough about chick sizes

Now if you think you're hot, good for you. If you're happy with how you look (I haven't seen how you look), then I am sure a size 8 is great for you. Now since 61 percent of the adult population was either overweight or obese in 1999 and that number has grown, I don't think it's great to promote an average that's skewed to promote being overweight and obese. If these girls were thin, they wouldn't be promoting fat cream.

And I don't think you understand how different this is in NYC vs. Chicago. In NYC, it's not everywhere. In Chicago you will see it everywhere.

It's kinda funny, but I bet that if these were skinny girls in thongs, all the chicks would be flipping out. Since it's big softball-player type girls in granny undies, all the chicks dig it.

-Rudey

[UKDaisy]

I like the new ad campaign. It makes me feel more normal about myself. Instead of seeing some skinny chick and thinking "dang it i'm fat".

[Susan_Renee]

Originally posted by valkyrie
The ads are cool, but Dove is made by Unilever, which tests on animals, so I won't buy it.

This saddens me. I love Dove products, but I had no idea it was tested on animals.

[xo_kathy]

Originally posted by Rudey
Disclaimer: I don't know enough about chick sizes

Now if you think you're hot, good for you. If you're happy with how you look (I haven't seen how you look), then I am sure a size 8 is great for you. Now since 61 percent of the adult population was either overweight or obese in 1999 and that number has grown, I don't think it's great to promote an average that's skewed to promote being overweight and obese. If these girls were thin, they wouldn't be promoting fat cream.

And I don't think you understand how different this is in NYC vs. Chicago. In NYC, it's not everywhere. In Chicago you will see it everywhere.

It's kinda funny, but I bet that if these were skinny girls in thongs, all the chicks would be flipping out. Since it's big softball-player type girls in granny undies, all the chicks dig it.

-Rudey

OK, given you made the disclaimer, I actually can understand your thinking a little better. I still don't tihnk showing women this size is promoting being overweight.

And, I never said I was hot - I don't fall into that category. I'm "pretty" but that doens't mean a non-skinny girl can't be hot.

And they are all over NYC - espcially the suburbs where I live - there's at least one on each side of every Metro North platform.

AND, I wouldn't care if they were skinny (as I've seen plenty of skinny girls with cellulite!) if they were in the same clothes with the same lack of make-up these ladies are. If they were vamped up in thongs and sultry make-up, that would be a different story.

[ADqtPiMel]

Originally posted by 33girl
At least they're using women who actually have cellulite to remove.

Yea, I know, and it seems ironic to me because they're all "You're beautiful any size!" but they're marketing cellulite removal cream.

[33girl]

You can be skinny as a rail and still have cellulite, you can be the size of an aircraft carrier and have none. At any rate I don't think anyone would say cellulite is attractive.

[AGDee]

When I wore a size 12, I weighed 125 pounds, which made my BMI a 23.

18.5 - 24.9 Normal
25.0 - 29.9 Overweight
30.0 - 34.9 Obese
35.0 - 39.9 Obese

You aren't considered overweight until you reach 25!

And, if you are large chested, you'll never be less than a 12. For me, in the 120's, I wore a 12. In the 140's I wore a 14, and so on up the scale. It was pretty consistent, even back in college. And, if you have Italian hips, nothing short of bone removal is going to make you a lower size. I don't ever expect to wear smaller than a 12! (although I'd love to be a 12 again!)

[xo_kathy]

Originally posted by 33girl
You can be skinny as a rail and still have cellulite, you can be the size of an aircraft carrier and have none. At any rate I don't think anyone would say cellulite is attractive.

This is so true! I was walking home last night behind this girl who was very thin and very pretty. She had on form fitting white pants. With every step she took her ass cheek and uper thigh turned to horrible cottage cheese!

SO, my question to the boys (ok, Rudey cuz he's the only one responding) is this:
If they women were thin, but had droopy boobs and bad cellulite, you'd be ok with the ads?