These three ads for yogurt ran in Brazil. They are supposed to inspire revulsion. Their tagline is:
“Forget about it. Men’s preference will never change. Fit Light Yogurt.”
Many have commented that these women look hot, not repulsive. So the images might be useful for inspiring a discussion about polysemy and the fact that advertisers can’t control how their images are perceived.
Alternatively, they might work differently in Brazil than the U.S. Any thoughts?
Comments 10
Martin W. — March 31, 2008
It is odd that the icons they choose to portray (Sharon Stone, Marilyn, and Mena Suvari) are decidedly not Brazilian. Yet you say that is their target market, it begs for a discussion of the USA's image/portrayal in the world.
Anonymous — March 31, 2008
also, though the first two are perhaps a bit too rubeseque for most tastes, the last one if freakin HAWT.
Anonymous — March 31, 2008
it's interesting that they used marilyn monroe, who was kind of a curvy girl herself by today's standards.......
and i hope commenting on aesthetics isn't confused for objectifying the model, but the third is hotter than the original, and would be even more so if it weren't for the model's stiff pose.
Anonymous — April 2, 2008
"They are supposed to inspire revulsion"
-Yes...in women...their target. Who cares what men think as they aren't women.
"Many have commented..."
-Male or female? That is the question.
Perhaps its the confident postures of the women along with their celebrity residue that has a part in men thinking these photos are attractive. I find these photos and women of similar physique to be attractive and, as in any relationship, it is enhanced by their disposition(an it-ness that partially defines them, comprised of various "confident postures") and character(that which builds "celebrity residue" through continual experience).
The ads fail on some accounts:
1. The women each have a look categorized by a shade of 'satisfaction' without the least bit of shame or guilt. The humor angle, over which the ad agency might be hoping consumers trip over into the puddle of disgust, doesn't really work well either as the altered photos show the same attractive personality beaming out of each woman which makes these possibly stand as images to combat the "thin is in" mentality with a more mentally healthy "comfort in confidence, not dress size" perspective.
2. The picture is framed with the yogurt within it's boundaries. This implies a complicity or "part and parcel" (yogurt + satisfied woman = ???). I suppose the old and obvious concept we assume they're trying to represent might not be; they might be pushing the boundary away from "only for those trying to lose weight or stay thin", to "for everyone's enjoyment" which would envelope a market bracket I assume they consider aren't great consumers of a product hammered out for decades as a Tiegs-level diet food(I can only assume being an American).
3. It may well be that these images were meant to conflate "fatness" and "American". In Brazil it could make the statement that "these famous images would have never happened in the 'land of prosperity 'had they been fat". [Anyone from Brazil is free to back me up on that "land of prosperity" projection.] Or it could imply a sense of cultural decay in that it would be absurd to get "American sized" so "we'll just stick with the good old pre-Bush2 American values of sex appeal that Hollywood has helped inject into our culture". Ahh, that one seems to resonate for me...the decay of influence by American culture..."don't let it happen to us".
L. G. — December 5, 2008
Hmm, it might be because I'm bi, but I'm a woman and I find these images incredibly alluring as well. And if you were to ask me what "type" of girls I'm into, I'd usually say small and boyish.
It almost looks like these were photographed to go into an entirely different context. The women look too self-assured and in control (note their exchange of gaze with the viewer, something that is rare in women in advertising.)
Bea Moreira — December 20, 2008
I'm Brazilian (though I'm living in New England now), and can tell you that the American culture, with respects to being fat, being attractive, what it means to be a woman and so on, is not different from Brazil's.
Maybe it is in some areas (Northwest -> near Amazon, or Northeast, i.e., more isolated areas). I'm from São Paulo, and this add was target for people in the South and Southeast region, seeing that people from remote areas of Brazil wouldn't get the Marlin Monroe or (sort of) American Beauty allusion.
I think those women are pretty, but that doesn't mean I'd want to be THEM. Brazilians are obsessed with weight. So I'd say that most Brazilian women wouldn't think they looked hot.
Anonymous — July 28, 2009
Gorgeous! I'm a polysexual woman who prefers slender women, but these women are not only beautiful but sexy. It's their confidence, from where I see them, that's particularly alluring.
darwins_secret_mistress — January 3, 2010
I love the first one. Can someone please photograph me looking that hot?
Blix — January 16, 2012
Sigh... enough already! When will people stop believing that one type of body is better? Keep your horrible opinions of others to yourselves. Also, why must we feel that our bodies should be for display purposes? Sure, we all want to be considered attractive, but why should anyone's opinion of your looks matter if he or she doesn't even love you?