For this blog, I wanted to do something different then the typical messages that magazine ads portray, which is that to be super skinny is beautiful. Recently, I came across the Ralph Lauren ad (pictured below) of an already thin model that was airbrushed. I had never really thought about models being airbrushed because they already seem to be perfect. This ad really grabbed my attention and motivated me to do further research on airbrushing in ads. These ads not only tell a story, but they tell a very fiction one. Below are five airbrushed ads, each found in a different magazine.
Myth # 1- The skinnier you are, the prettier you are.
The following is one of the most well-known myth’s that ads show us. Advertisers for the most part only use models that are very thin in their ads, whether it’s advertising clothes, magazines, shoes, face products, or even cleaning products for the home. This ad is clearly airbrushed because the fact that her head is larger than her waist and hips is scientifically impossible. This portrays the message that if you buy Ralph Lauren clothes, perhaps you can be this skinny too.
Myth # 2- Big breasted women are more attractive.
This ad associates using perfume to being sexy, and they do so by having Kierre Knightley’s breasts showing. The sad fact about this ad is that her breasts are airbrushed to look at least a cup bigger then what they really are. This tells the story that to be sexy, your breasts have to be large. I personally don’t understand what breasts have to do with smelling nice, but isn’t that the whole point?
Myth # 3- Dove uses real women in their campaigns.
Sure, the idea of using plus size models in their underwear is a great marketing technique. It uses the “plain folks” sales pitch by using ordinary people like you and me in their ads. However, this ad was also airbrushed. To Dove’s dismay, it came out that renowned photo retoucher Pascal Dangin retouched this photograph as well. He said, “it was great to do, a challenge, to keep everyone’s skin and faces showing the mileage but not looking unattractive.” It turns out that even the “real” women in advertising that we look up to aren’t what they seem to be.
Myth # 4- Celebrities are perfect.
Okay, so they’re very close. But no one is perfect, not even the people we see on fashion magazines. Redbook, a supposed feel-good magazine aimed at women, featured this retouched photo of Faith Hill on the cover of their magazine. The slogan of their magazine is to “love your life”. As you can see, Faith Hill’s body was thinned up, and her freckles and bags under her eyes were completely removed.
http://www.switched.com/2007/08/30/worst-airbrushed-celebs-of-2007-so-far/
Myth # 5- Women shouldn’t have wrinkles or other natural “skin imperfections”.
Would you believe me if I told you that these two women are the SAME person? Probably not. The woman to the left and right is known as Twiggy, a British model that became the face of Olay products 25 years ago. The ad to the right tells the story that after using Olay’s products for 25 years, at 59 years old her complexion is remarkable and nearly flawless. A real picture of Twiggy, shown on the left, tells a very different story. So much for Olay’s slogan, “love the skin you’re in.”
Ultimately, the meaning of airbrushing and these ads to me is that even those people who are “perfect” enough to be in famous magazines aren’t even good enough for advertising. This sends out a bad message to consumers because we strive to look like these people, and what we’re striving so hard to achieve is actually unreal and impossible. This is the common myth that we find in all ads, airbrushed or not. It is that in buying and using their products, we will become more attractive and desirable like the people we see featured in the ads.
*Each of the links lead to the article where I found the picture and information about it.
