Buying in to Heavy, Essay Example

If the group, Federal Response to Eating Disorders (FREED), or other advocacy coalitions paid for ads that featured people of larger body size in attempts to sell make-up or hair coloring, I would probably buy the products; however, according to a recent study conducted at the University of Arizona (King, 2010), most people would not. These kinds of ads are aimed at heavier consumers, and it appears that using larger models does not cause their target groups to race out and purchase their products.

Could it be true that seeing heavier women in national ad campaigns lowers women’s self-esteem? It does not for me, but scientific research says it does. If body size keeps people from buying products, that is truly amazing to me. If this is true, then the recent Dove Soap “Real Women” ads resulted in fewer bars of soap being sold to heavy women because their self-esteem had been lowered, and fewer bars of soap to women of normal size because they did not wish to be associated with a product that heavy women might use. Carried to its ultimate conclusion, Kate Moss could cause Weight Watcher women to lose weight even if they did not purchase Weight Watcher products. Just looking at her on the walls of Weight watcher meeting spaces would cause the scales to dip. This is crazy. I guess it is true nonetheless.

A caution needs to be addressed here. It is possible that continued practices of emaciated, bulimic-looking models could perpetuate the tide of eating disorders in yet another generation of adolescent girls. Most females, coming into young adulthood, are not skinny and 5’9”.

FREED is working to get the first federal legislation concerning eating disorders. The effort has, as its chief spokesperson, Miss America 2008, Kirsten Haglund (Press Release, 2008). Leading the effort in Congress is Representative Patrick Kennedy (D) of Rhode Island (Stein, 2009).

References

King, J. (2010). Using fatties in marketing campaigns unlikely to work. Phoenix New Times, 16 Mar 2010. retrieved 23 Mar 2010 from  http://blogs.poenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2010/03/using_fatties_in_marketing_cam.php

Press Release (2008). Miss America 2008 Kirsten Haglund Joins Citizens to Lobby Congress on Eating Disorders. Gail R. Schoenbach Foundation for Recovery and Elimination of Eating Disorders, March. Retrieved 23 Mar 2010 from http:/www.freedfoundation.org/activism.php

Stein, M. (2009). Organizations work to improve recognition, treatment of eating disorders. Eating Disorders Review, 20(5), 1-2.(cover story) By: Stein, Mary K.. Eating Disorders Review, Sep/Oct2009, Vol. 20 Issue 5, p1-2