Summer of Dove (Media In A Lather Over Soap Models)

Newsweek ^ | 8/3/05 | By Susanna Schrobsdorff

[Airborne1986]

Summer of Dove Are the women in the company’s new ad campaign too big to sell beauty products, or have our minds gotten too small?

Newsweek Updated: 3:13 p.m. ET Aug. 3, 2005 Aug. 3 - Even if you haven’t seen Dove’s "Campaign for Real Beauty," you’ve probably heard about it. The ads promote a new line of skin-firming creams and feature six "regular" women of varying sizes and ethnicities cheerfully posing in plain white underwear. The curvy nonmodel models were introduced by Dove in June, but newspapers across the country are still simmering with dueling diatribes about Dove's selection of women who are neither skinny nor camouflaged in sexy clothes. Everyone seems to have an opinion about whether the women are a revolutionary rejection of the superthin media ideal, or just nice girls who are too chubby to be up on billboards wearing next to nothing.

...

There is a surprising amount of hostility in some reactions to the ads. Lucio Guerrero, a staff reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times who was apparently offended by the sight of the ads on his commute, wrote on July 19: "Really, the only time I want to see a thigh that big is in a bucket with bread crumbs on it."

[Airborne1986]

These ads are all over the subways and trains in Boston. I avert my eyes so quickly when I see them that I didn't even know they were intended to sell soap until I read this story. I thought they were selling underwear for "plus-size" girls.

[Republicus2001]

special soap to clean dirt from fat folds?

[Prime Choice]

Fat-bottom girls you make the rockin' world go roouuuund!

[Airborne1986]

"special soap to clean dirt from fat folds?"

They must package the stuff in 50 gallon drums.

[mrs. a]

Hey, the bigger the girl, the more soap she'll need...

[Tijeras_Slim]

I avert my eyes so quickly when I see them

Don't get all in a lather. :)

[Prime Choice]

Personally, I prefer a woman with some meat on her bones. The near-anorexia "lollipop" girls out there don't do a thing for me. Hell...most of 'em look like they'd break in half if they got a serious romp in the hay.

[Clemenza]

The bigger the cushion the sweeter the pushin' or so I have read...

[Tijeras_Slim]

I'm with you. They look fine to me.

[Junior]

Amen.

[goodnesswins]

"promoting a new line of skin-firming creams..."

BAAAWWAAAAAHHHHH....there's a sucker born every second....the Dove people are just pandering to their target market.

[SolidRedState]

The images look distorted. Me thinks some tom-foolery goin on here.

[Airborne1986]

"Hell...most of 'em look like they'd break in half if they got a serious romp in the hay."

The new generation of Dove girls should meet your specs. They have as much up-armor as a Humvee in Tikrit.

[travlnmn41]

Voluptuous is good!

[Airborne1986]

"The images look distorted. Me thinks some tom-foolery goin on here."

I wish. These signs are everywhere. Here is another story.

http://www.slate.com/id/2123659?nav=wp

[konaice]

Yup, intentional altering of the image by Airborne1986...

The same image, from the same source:

[Rifleman]

Women with body types matching those of fourteen year old boys have never excited me.

My favorate type is epitomized by Liv Tyler's sister. There is a girl that I would like to throw a little soapy water on and jump on like a slip 'n' slide.

[OrangeDaisy]

It looks like the pictures in post #1 have been stretched horizontally. Was that really necessary? If you'll read the whole article, you'll learn that these ladies aren't anywhere near plus sized. They are size 6 - 12, and the average US woman is size 12 - 14. These women are normal and healthy instead of being Lindsay Lohan Anorexic!

[Prime Choice]

That's cool. Me, I've always been leery of the whole "twiggy" look. I just can't understand why New York ad execs think we should all be turned on by rail-thin women who look like a young boys.

[Prime Choice]

I'll take one of each to go with nothin' on 'em, please.

;o)