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| Nathan Sorrel, 12 years old |
Yesterday I did a segment for Today. During the taping I was
asked the inevitable “so what numbers are we talking about when it comes to
weight in this country”. I mentioned that two thirds of adults were overweight
or obese however I don’t focus on these figures. The statistics and obesity
anxiety or weight terror- alert doesn’t help. So what does?
A study from the Rudd Center at Yale University concluded
two things were helpful when it came to messaging about weight or eating. We
tend to respond to messaging that’s supportive and information that encourages
a specific behavior. The Let’s Move campaign is a great example of keeping it
positive (and not preachy) and providing relevant resources.
How about advertisers? Yesterday’s segment focused on a
front page USA Today article about the trend in casting overweight people in ads. While
inclusivity is always good, I think we have to look at the motivation. Are the
ads designed to sell products? To stir up controversy? Or to help foster
change? Some of these ads have caused
quite a ruckus.
Take this add from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. An
overweight mother and daughter are in the grocery store. The mother places
unhealthy items in her cart and the daughter, with a mini cart, does the same.
Let’s just say this didn’t sit well with many people including Lindy West on
Jezebel (wish I had her with me for the napkin girls incident). I think Blue Cross
could’ve made the same point saying “we’ve all been there and we don’t always
set the best example for our kids.” Today you can change that and show a mother
and child reading a label or making better market selections.
Nike shows an overweight boy jogging. The narration tells us
greatness isn’t reserved for a select few, we are all capable of it. When I see
it I smell a conference rooms of ad execs saying “we can’t sell shoes to a
select few” it feels calculated. My kids had a different reaction. One of my
boys said “it says never give up.” When the video finished the collage of other
videos/ads displayed on the screen. My younger son said “the boy running in the
commercial was big, none of those people are big.” He then said, “but in the
world lots of people are big.” In his eight-year-old terms he could see this
was unusual. However, regardless of its intensions it was supportive in its
messaging and specific in its explicit message (to exercise). It also appeals
to both overweight and non overweight...good for sales and health at the same
time.
From years of counseling clients, a couple of things are
clear. First, people know what to eat. They know what they “should” eat.
Second, shame and guilt isn’t the answer. We all have an abundance of
negativity swirling about in our heads when it comes to weight and food. To
enact change, we have to go about things differently. We have to give people
something they don’t already have.
What’s your reaction to more overweight people in ads? Do
you think it’s inclusive or patronizing? And what about the parent’s? Should
the parents let their children me the face of childhood obesity?
I'm not sure where I stand on this issue. I agree that guilt is not the best way to make people change, but I also think that many Americans really don't realize there is a problem with eating unhealthy foods in front of their kids. They don't realize how much of an effect it has on their kids when they themselves eat unhealthy or don't exercise, or do other things that are negative to their health. Maybe viewing these commercials as a little reminder, rather than a guilt trip, is the best way to do it. I don't know, I'm still on the fence with this one.
ReplyDeleteGreat post.
Tough questions...we do teach by example. I also agree that people know what they should eat and that guilt and shame won't help. I do believe that that you are correct and Nike's move was calculated and perhaps they thought they would come across as compassionate .
ReplyDeleteI think it's patronizing to use larger people in ads. I'd like to see more regular Joe lookin' people, but using blatantly obese ones just seems fake. It's like the company is trying too hard, and it doesn't sit well with me.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see overweight people in ads that have nothing to do with food or exercise (so as not to shame or offend). As the boys said, "in the world lots of people are big." I loved the Nike ad with the boy running. Loved it. It reminded me of this blog post, which I also love, called Hey, Fat Girl: http://flintland.blogspot.com/2012/05/hey-fat-girl.html
ReplyDeleteI guess we all see things differently. It didn't occur to me that anyone would be offended by that Nike ad. Of course it is created to sell. It's an ad. Ads pay for our entertainment. We've "agreed" to this arrangement in the U.S. I remember back when all the people in every single ad where white. I love seeing such a representation of color and age in ads these days. Why not add size to the mixture?
I agree Caron, when overweight people are selling shampoo and cars it'll be for the right reasons though that's complicated too sort of like larger seats on airplanes. We want people comfortable but what does it say...I will check out this link (in philly on conference center floor, lovely) I would read Jezebel piece, WOW.
ReplyDeleteright, does it have to be a 200 pound person? hmn
ReplyDeleteI think both compassionate (seeming) and calculated. Oy that's dangerous.
ReplyDeleteI think it's hard to see it clearly. I think what we do of course affects our kids but if I am someone buying pizza poppers am I going to change based on this? Not sure.
ReplyDeleteI'm an obese person living a healthy lifestyle and working on losing weight. To me, the commercials with overweight people reflects my lifestyle and makes me feel like I'm not alone in this journey, and the company cares about my needs just as much as the thin person working out. I don't see it as patronizing or motivational. It just makes me feel like the company cares about my needs.
ReplyDeleteI have a few thoughts- First, I think it's easy for me to think yes, everyone should know what they "should" eat -as I'm a Sunday food prep person and always try to stay as minimally processed as possible, but, one step into a non-whole foods grocery store and that just isn't the case, especially in the south. A huge lack of food education exists in this country that goes beyond what is good or bad to eat, but goes to the fact that first, some cultures don't even consider good or bad, and second, some people have a total lack of education over portion control, etc. Second, many teens who are obese are that way because of their parents' lack of education and poor food choices for them. That being said, their whole lives they've been made fun of, and most likely have low self esteem. That ad - of an overweight teen, probably speaks to a lot of kids who didn't get that way because they knowingly chose, but did so because of parenting.
ReplyDeleteBut, in regard to whether this ad speaks to obese people in general, I still think it does. 6 years ago I went from 125 lbs to 210 lbs in 4 months - I had a RARE form of Cushings Disease. But, even though I had a medical condition causing this (and not a 3X a day obsession with fast food), it didn't change the way other people treated me (mean comments, NO service in stores) and it DID affect my self esteem. So, after having the surgery to remove tumors off my adrenal glands, I was still overweight, and I still had to face the gym as a fat person trying to lose weight, in a sea of healthy people, who I know looked on and judged me. I would take comfort when I saw someone with a less than perfect body trying to make the journey. I remember looking at athletic ads with amazingly fit people on them, and it did nothing more than discourage me, because when I was facing an 80 pound weight loss, that goal seemed impossible. However, had I seen an obese person or even a 25 pound over weight person in an ad, I would have thought, they're doing it, I can do it. As much as I despise Jessica Simpson for her buttered pop tart, shoving everything into her face while pregnant, all to get a weight watchers deal, I have to imagine for women out there her public journey of weight loss is probably pretty inspiring. If she can do it, they can too.
Marketing ploys are always a mystery to me. Ali claims I am a marketers worst nightmare because I am almost immune to ads. I have no idea what people look like in them because I skip right over them.
ReplyDeleteInteresting question you pose though...I wouldn't want my child living with the stigma of being the face of anything. But that's just me!
i think nike put out this ad with the intention to stir up controversy...'any publicity is good publicity' to get the people talking (about nike) perhaps? they could have easily featured a famous athlete & gotten the same message across to get people to buy running shoes.
ReplyDeleteYes, without a doubt, it was an atypical choice and they know how to get to our heartstrings. They know that this was even more of a contrast shown interspersed with picture perfect olympians.
ReplyDeletesadly many parents feel any exposure is good. I agree with Ali, somehow I can't see you falling for much, especially if you're not watching. Although some cure for children's motion sickness, some apt in NYC if it spoke to you, it may be different.
ReplyDeleteWow, thank you for that. I may indeed be biased ny NYC food-knowledge but even living in New Orleans, I think when pressed people still can pick the healthy/unhealthy foods out but they're swayed by the less healthy culturally. You bring up some great points. I think the difference between a public effort to lose weight and an add is that the real person, if celebs are real, isn't as fabricated. I also think that we can use imperfect people that we can all relate to rather than seeking out an extra large person for the sake of driving home a point. Thank you for your honesty and time to share this Whitney. How are you feeling now?
ReplyDeleteThe company does "care" about you but perhaps not for the reason you'd like. Jeannette, thanks for pointing this out. We're worried about people who are insulted and some folks, like you, may not be. Keep up the good work and thanks for commenting.
ReplyDeleteSuch great comments on this post! On the one hand, it may indeed be a calculated effort by Nike and others to stir up controversy, but I do like that it may be sending out the message to those who are overweight that they can "do it" too...it can be seen as motivational. Also, had to chime in, that while the clients I see have a pretty good idea that chips and candy don't make for a healthy diet, they still have a lot of confusion on what they SHOULD be eating (apart from fruits and veggies), so I still think they need a lot of educating when it comes to healthy eating ( and I live in a very health conscious area too). Thanks for starting the conversation!
ReplyDeleteThanks EA, it's a good reminder that things don't have to have 1 purpose. Calculated can still inspire. All ads are designed to sell but some tug at us. I hear you that people know what not to do but what to eat is still confusing.
ReplyDeleteHi Lauren, thanks for linking to my piece! And thanks for backing the notion that shame doesn't work. It really doesn't. I wanted to address the Nike ad really quick, because I feel pretty conflicted about it (I wrote about it here: http://jezebel.com/5932248/nike-uses-fat-kid-to-sell-shoes-nation-rejoices).
ReplyDeleteI think my knee-jerk resistance to the ad comes from here: As a fat person who has spent countless hours at the gym, I can't tell you how many times thin, fit strangers have come up to me and said, "Oh my gosh, I see you here all the time and it's just so inspiring to see how hard you work. If you can do it, I have no excuse!" That's a DEEPLY condescending attitude, and the best analogy I can come up with for how it makes me feel is claustrophobia. Get off me. I am not yours. I am not a motivational tool for you to use--especially when that motivation stems from your preconceived biases about what my body "should" be capable of.
That's the attitude I see being directed at the kid in this ad, but on a massive national scale. And the idea that he's being put in that position not of his own volition (not because he wants to work out, not because exercise is healthy and life-affirming) but because a massive corporation wants to sell shoes with cheap motivational tricks, is really distasteful to me.
Lindy, thank you so much for coming over to comment. I hate making assumptions based on weight. I actually say I worry most, in terms of health" about the person who appears to be able to eat whatever they want. What do those arteries look like? the truth is we don't know any more than we know the cardiovascular shape of anyone at the gym. And with Nathan, in the Nike ad, Matt Lauer said "Nike said they're going to check back with you if you lose weight." He corrected himself and said "if you stick with it" but I see a second installment coming. How "great" will Nathan be if he loses weight in Nike stuff? Vomit.
ReplyDeleteIn this piece, Lindy says, "Fat people are just fat people, and the implication is that "greatness" for this kid would be to become a thinner kid." I guess I missed that as well as the uproar surrounding it. I never thought for a moment the ad was for this kid to be thinner through running, but that anyone who wants to start must start somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI have obese family members and living with them has taught me one thing: I know nothing. So I try to keep my mouth shut. Much like infertility: if it isn't YOU, you don't know. If you did but now have children, that's great, but you no longer know what it means to grow older without. I get that and when I think of this topic that way, I see how we can all look at something and have different responses. This topic is yet another social landmine. Thanks for bringing it up for discussion!