Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

I had noticed the new ad campaigns but never thought too hard about it. Thanks for asking the question!

My take?

The "top model" has never been inspiring to me. While I appreciate the aesthetic, my feeling is that this person is from a segment of society that has specific characteristics that look good on camera.

I find it refreshing that campaigns are embracing woman in all her forms. What is more inspiring than seeing all kinds of women out there doing their thing?

Would the use of "ordinary" people make me more willing to try the product? I would probably be more drawn to the whole story the ad graphics tell rather than the people in it (unless they have unusual characteristics, in which case I might notice them first).

I may be drifting off topic, but here's some questions I have on the trend
- Could this be the beginning of a transition to new beauty standards? Today's top model looks have not always been the standard.
- Could this be a way to control costs? Are "ordinary
people" less expensive than top models?
- Is this a logical extension of the depiction of ordinary people in public, a la reality TV?
- What influence has the web had on the development of these trends in general, where reality is aired by those who dare to place cameras on their computers for the world to tune in to and where recordings of ordinary people are rampantly exchanged across the net?

L

我认为这是一个FANTASIC想法,我是一个20年old male!!!!!!

I was going to ask this question myself, but have been quite busy Thanks for asking it.

It is about bloody f***ing time, I get SOOOOOO sick and tired of chicks always complaining to me that they are OVER WEIGHT, when in fact they are HOT AS HELL. It is the worst with Asian and Americans, they are like "since I came to NZ I have put on ten kgs, I am so fat. I
hate what my parents will think,... I am a pig...." blar blar blar. If they just stopped listening to the bloody media and looked around they would know that they are not fat and are very beautiful.

I personally think EXTREAMLY thin people look disgusting, who wants to look like a bag of skin and bones? They look like skelator. I will take a chick with a bit of meat on her bones over a skinny "deathly looking" girl anyday.

But then again chicks with hipster jeans walking down the street with there belly hanging over there belt this is NOT GOOD. Am I a hypocrite? Probably, but back in the 1600's when there was not much food, being fat WAS sexy, just look at all the old paintings of women. They are all fat.

Now I think the best looking people are the correct weight for there height, but since the world is getting fatter the people that would fall into this category are starting to become less common. :'(

We get bombarded with images of skinny chicks and guys that look like skinny chicks all day long :P, I think it is a good way to cut though the clutter, it is a bit like a Character models (eg ugly model). Yes there are actually models that are ugly, they have really bad teeth, bad skin, bad hair but they get used a lot.

I know of one character model that is the ONLY model EVER to have been in ALL of the major JEANS commercials.

They were talking about this on the radio the other day, I think they were interviewing the top advertising person in New Zealand, and she was saying how only 0.05% of the people on the planet actually fit the characteristics of a model with respect to arm to height to weight ratio. She also said that it is the beginning of a trend towards more common people being used in advertising.

I don’t really see why chick need to put a ton of make up on there faces, have they ever heard the saying “less is more”? I can understand it they have a birth mark or scar on there face, but if it is just to make them selves more attractive, most of the time they would have been better spending there money on vegetables to help stay healthy

that is my rant over

It's definitely a move in the right direction. The "Twiggy" model is really rather new in terms of historic beauty. Dove being a "classic" product fits well with the reality of America.

Smart business move? Just because people talk about the ads doesn't mean they'll buy the product. Watch this space!

Michael