This U.K. commercial for Hovis brand bread takes world champion, four-time Olympic medalist, Victoria Pendleton… and turns her into a woman on a diet.
It begins with an image of her on a bicycle overlaid with her voice discussing the “focus, discipline, [and] determination” she needs to race well… and ends with her in the kitchen talking about how she needs to “stop snacking” and stay slim be cause she “wear[s] lycra for a living.”
Thanks to Rowan T. for the submission!
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Comments 37
Guest — January 8, 2012
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/08/13/the-michael-phelps-diet-dont-try-it-at-home/
Ariel — January 8, 2012
Shouldn't she be snacking like crazy in order to replenish all the energy she's burning up from biking? I guess it's more important to look good in your uniform than to perform well in it.
Dante2534 — January 8, 2012
There are plenty of retired male athletes who advertise Weight Watchers and the like.
Michael Ahlers — January 8, 2012
All athletes are deeply concerned about diet. There are no exceptions. We count every calorie, and adjust intake based on activity. This is especially true for endurance athletes. Our success stems from two factors: the ability to suffer, and power-to-weight ratio. Increasing the latter means eating the right amount for optimal recovery, while limiting consumption to avoid weight gain. The balancing act is ongoing. This is life.
Leslee Beldotti — January 8, 2012
What if the person in that advertisement were male instead of female?
Would the message seem any different if it was a GUY implying that HE needs to maintain HIS weight because HE "wear(s) lycra for a living"?
Anonymous — January 8, 2012
Especially disturbing is how her comment is phrased, "For a good start to my day, *all* I need is [bread]. . ." I'm pretty sure most serious athletes and nutritionists would disagree.
Anonymous — January 9, 2012
Wait, so you're saying eating a couple slices of bread for breakfast won't make me a super hot world champion? Oh advertising, you got me again.
By the way, Ms. Pendelton is amazing. Watch some track cycling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBmWzUcQKww&feature=related
Gilbert Pinfold — January 9, 2012
I'm not sure what the agenda is here, but why do you think people go into Olympic sports with little upfront cash incentives? In order to to gain a few lucrative sponsorship deals, I would have thought. It's all part of a package they buy going in. And why would anyone pity someone who has taken such a self indulgent life path and gotten exactly what they hoped for?
MPS17 — January 9, 2012
I don't understand what is the commentary here. There are lots of commercials that feature lots of people who are successful in various ways "reduced" to consumers of some commercial product or service. That's one way in which advertising works. You see, the product or service benefits from affiliation with the celebrity, while the celebrity benefits by being paid.
Anonymous — January 9, 2012
tumblr_lthhtpWP1B1qacyk6o1_r1_500.jpg
vs.
Victoria+Pendleton+SKY+Track+Cycling+Team+IBPUXTDo3zxl.jpg
Andres — January 11, 2012
What I find most interesting about this ad is that it follows the same formula we've seen time and again for these shameless promotional ads: Athletes introduce themselves, they list the requirements for being a great athlete, and then they segue into how the breakfast cereal/sports drink/soft drink/deodorant/shoe/etc. gives them just the edge they need to obtain their success. But what "success" is defined as, in this case, is avoiding snacking and looking good in lycra.