Protein World - "How could we possibly be sexist?"

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  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
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    So CEO of a protein company I've never heard of tells overweight women to "grow some balls" about a skinny chick in a bikini?

    Am I caught up yet?
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    jimmmer wrote: »
    So CEO of a protein company I've never heard of tells overweight women to "grow some balls" about a skinny chick in a bikini?

    Am I caught up yet?

    except for the amount of money he's spent on his advertising campaign he's received substantially greater return in terms of brand awareness and potential sales from the manipulated 'scandal'

    I mean one could almost believe that the entire 'sexism backlash' has been planned?

    Funny how nobody yet has mentioned how a protein supplement is doing nothing for weight loss in the absence of a calorie controlled diet
  • Of_Monsters_and_Meat
    Of_Monsters_and_Meat Posts: 1,022 Member
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    All I hear is Renee Somerfield should feel bad about her body and cover it up.

    Shame on you Renee, for shame on taking care of yourself and getting a nice modeling job.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
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    The sense of outrage seems out of proportion.

    Massive earthquake just killed a bunch of people in one of the poorest countries in Asia.

    Literally thousands of people are fleeing wartorn Syria and drowning on their way to Europe.

    Perspective. It's a fine thing.
  • Darby23hx
    Darby23hx Posts: 3 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Brilliant Marketing, kind of like Starbucks spelling peoples names on cups wrong. Certainly you can't spell BOB wrong or can you. When they do the person whips out the cell phone blast it out over social media and Starbucks reached thousands if not millions of people for free.
    Are you beach body ready
  • nicola8989
    nicola8989 Posts: 381 Member
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    I didn't find it offensive - as people have said we are awash with magazines and adverts doing that to both men and women. It's so commonplace now I don't even really notice adverts like that.

    I do agree with the principle - not specifically this ad, but the Guardian article that talked about how this happens every year, of body shaming and implying that only certain types of bodies are "beach worthy".

    I don't think it's fair to single out this particular advert though - there are plenty of other advertisers and magazines doing the same. And plenty of people who shame you to your face if you go to the beach with a body that doesn't live up to those standards.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    See, this is the kind of stuff I was expecting in the "Are women so fragile" thread: hurt feelings and perceptions of victimization.

    "Oh, no, they're objectivizing us and fostering the belief that only one kind -- hang on while I Like this Sexy Fireman calendar on Facebook -- where was I? Oh yeah, fostering the belief that only one kind of female body is sexy."

    Get a grip.

    Thank you...

    I really, as a woman, am sick of it all myself.

    How is it sexist? because it's just a woman? stick a sexy man in there then...

    Regardless if this crap doesn't stop (crying about ads) all we are going to see is cute fuzzy animals or literally stick figures in our ads and sorry but I want to see good looking men in tight sexy under ware on a huge billboard as I drive down the road...makes my day just a bit brighter....*insert leering smile here*
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    nicola8989 wrote: »
    I don't think it's fair to single out this particular advert though - there are plenty of other advertisers and magazines doing the same. And plenty of people who shame you to your face if you go to the beach with a body that doesn't live up to those standards.

    I think the reason this one specifically got singled out is because the backlash started out as people writing things on the adverts, and photos of those things got uploaded and went viral. You wouldn't get that with a TV ad or online ad. Plus the fact that it's so common. I can't think of any other specific adverts that advertise beach bodies or whatever, but I can't go to work without seeing that one about 5 times.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    The company's responses are what it truly pathetic. I guess alienating your customer base is the new marketing scheme.

    Worked really well for Abercrombie and Fitch.

  • ruthie3110
    ruthie3110 Posts: 160 Member
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    stevencloser wrote: »
    Did the models get held at gunpoint to make those photos?

    No, but just because sex sells doesn't mean I should have to agree with seeing half naked people on every street corner in the name of selling a product.
    I have no problem with male or female nudity, in fact probably less so than most people. What I have a problem with is society's views that only fit men and women are sexy, and therefore we should put their pictures on everything to make other people feel bad. The models themselves are not being exploited, their good looks are.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    ruthie3110 wrote: »
    stevencloser wrote: »
    Did the models get held at gunpoint to make those photos?

    No, but just because sex sells doesn't mean I should have to agree with seeing half naked people on every street corner in the name of selling a product.
    I have no problem with male or female nudity, in fact probably less so than most people. What I have a problem with is society's views that only fit men and women are sexy, and therefore we should put their pictures on everything to make other people feel bad. The models themselves are not being exploited, their good looks are.
    If it makes people feel bad, that's on those people. Taking personal responsibility for one's own issues can be a pretty good thing.

  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
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    ruthie3110 wrote: »
    stevencloser wrote: »
    Did the models get held at gunpoint to make those photos?

    No, but just because sex sells doesn't mean I should have to agree with seeing half naked people on every street corner in the name of selling a product.
    I have no problem with male or female nudity, in fact probably less so than most people. What I have a problem with is society's views that only fit men and women are sexy, and therefore we should put their pictures on everything to make other people feel bad. The models themselves are not being exploited, their good looks are.

    Again, it's not exploitation if the people involved knew what they were doing and doing it out of their own volition. No one forced them and no one pretended like their picture wouldn't be on advertisements.
    And obviously the models don't seem to have any problem with being seen half naked on every street corner.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I don't see a problem with this ad. If I were advertising something I would want fit and great looking people in the ad because it is more effective. And while I don't think that you have to be a 10 on the fitness/thinness/hotness scale to be attractive, I do think that the majority of people would look at the woman in the ad and think that she is attractive and thus find the product more attractive. That's what advertising is about. It's majority aspirational, minority relatable. Even the advertising that Nike is doing now with the inner thoughts of women while exercising is set up that way--they are using fit and attractive actors, not average average actors for it, even though they are portraying the "average woman."
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    I'm pretty sensitive about anything sexist, but this just doesn't do it for me. It's no different than literally every other ad out there. Why this has blown up is beyond me. It's a "fitness" company - of course they are going to use fit models. And "bikini body" has been a buzz term in the fitness/dieting industry forever. The only thing wrong with the ad is that it's boring and unoriginal.

    The CEO sounds like a piece of work, but that's a different issue entirely.
  • JPW1990
    JPW1990 Posts: 2,424 Member
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    TheVirgoddess wrote: »
    I'm pretty sensitive about anything sexist, but this just doesn't do it for me. It's no different than literally every other ad out there. Why this has blown up is beyond me. It's a "fitness" company - of course they are going to use fit models. And "bikini body" has been a buzz term in the fitness/dieting industry forever. The only thing wrong with the ad is that it's boring and unoriginal.

    The CEO sounds like a piece of work, but that's a different issue entirely.

    It's yet another offshoot of a tumblr "acceptance" campaign. The same ones who go around reporting any blog that mentions weight loss or exercise as thinspo, even when it's normal, everyday advice.
  • Looncove_Farm
    Looncove_Farm Posts: 115 Member
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    I cant say I take issue whatsoever with the ad. I dont use supplements, unless you count my Gummi Vitamins. Even if I had a size 6 body I still wouldnt put a bikini on. I tend to be very modest and I am more comfortable covered. Not because im ashamed of how I look but because I just like to be covered. I think anyone that can slip into a bikini and be happy is great, its just not for me. I want to lose the weight for comfort and health reasons as well as looking nice in a pair of jeans and a well fitting t-shirt, LOL, my idea of dressing up. I dont think im ugly im also not insecure just because im overweight, and I wont wear anything different when I lose the weight than I do now.
    I seriously think this ad has been taken way out of context, but thats just me. Imagine how the model must feel to have some people saying shes a bad example to others.
  • jimmyalice1984
    jimmyalice1984 Posts: 171 Member
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    I was out on Saturday with my daughter who is 21when I noticed this ad. What annoyed me about it was the fact that it is the end of April and this company is promising gullible women that all it will take is a couple of months and a tin of protein powder to be in great shape by the time they take their Summer holiday? AND they're using an airbrushed picture as an incentive. It is false advertising full stop, real people have attained stunning results with hard work and it didn't happen overnight. That's the message that needs to be put across here. Tell the truth and shame the devil or something like that anyway lol :D
  • Dragn77
    Dragn77 Posts: 810 Member
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    Im in sales, and my job is not to make people feel bad about themselves, its to make them feel good about our products and buy them. My job is to convince people that my product filled a need..whether a need they currently have, or had no idea they had until I brought it to their attention. Thats what sales and marketing is all about... nothing personal, just business.

    Completely amazed though with how many women have never ever heard of the term beach body, or the phrase beach body ready before this ad though. Like, they really react and act as though this company made it up just now for the purpose of shaming women into feeling like they arent worthy of the beach, when in truth, this term has been around since forever...a common phrase this company is using as part of their marketing strategy because they felt (wrongly I suppose) that women have heard this before and would be able to relate to that desire of wanting to look their best.

    Theres a million threads on here, and there will be more as summer gets closer, of people wanting to look as good as they can as the weather changes and the layers of clothes start to peel away...whether their goal is to lose weight or lift and define muscle or whatever. Theres nothing inherently wrong with a person wanting to feel good about how they look, and if they arent quite there yet, summer / the beach is a pretty common motivator.

    Im guessing people who have never heard the phrase dont live near a beach and have never been to one before? I dont know..I live in FL. Being beach body ready is a year round thing around these parts. :blush:

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