Unilever really, truly cares about women’s health (But baby’s? Not so much)
A Standing O! for Dove/Unilever’s most recent hypocritcal PR move:
Unilever bans size zero models
. . . all brand directors and ad agencies (the company) worked with would be expected to use a Body Mass Index of between 18.5 and 25 as a “guideline” for selecting actors and models for campaigns.
Unilever reported recent “strong first-quarter growth,” and analysts support the move away from anorexic spokesmodels:
Not only is it a good short-term move for PR sake . . . it’s a good long-term tactic for business.
Unilever, you’d be more believable if you’d be consistent. You can’t be seen as a leader in new health and beauty standards if you continue to market skin-lightening creme and, most recently, suggest that mothers shouldn’t breastfeed because it makes them flat-chested (NAAO Demands Suave Shampoo Dump Anti-Breastfeeding Ad).
We’re not buying it.
May 11th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
How about accepting models in whatever body size is natural to them? I’m super skinny naturally, so much so that some people think I’m anorexic. I’m not - it’s just genetics for me. Healthiness is where it’s at, but then advertising in general doesn’t seem to be about health. It’s about what sells.
May 23rd, 2007 at 10:07 am
Wow! I never saw that add, but I think I would have fallen out of my chair if I had!
Did they really think Americans would be that niave, that gullible? What an insult! And to think of how much this country needs to embrace and encourage breastfeeding, the add concept just dumbfounds me.
Where do you find this stuff?
May 23rd, 2007 at 10:12 am
Shawna, I fell into the Unilever stuff after my “inaugural” post. Now I subscribe to Google Alerts so I receive an email every time new information about Dove or Unilever comes up on the web. Women have also emailed me things they’ve found.
I really didn’t mean to focus on Unilever so much, but there’s just too much material out there to ignore!
Thanks for stopping by.