Marketers: the weight of the world is on OUR shoulders.

Madrid's Fashion Week has turned away underweight models after protests that girls and young women were trying to copy their rail-thin looks and developing eating disorders.

Having turned away 30 percent of models who took part in the previous event, organizers say they want to project an image of beauty and health, rather than a waif-like, heroin chic look. Yep, they actually had medics on hand measuring BPI indexes (fat to body-weight ratio).

It may just be the beginning of a positive trend. Milan Italy's Mayor Moratti also spoke up this week, telling an Italian newspaper she would seek a similar ban for her city's show unless it could find a solution to "sick" looking models.

But New York's Elite modeling agency said the fashion industry was "being used as a scapegoat for illnesses like anorexia and bulimia." Yeah right, fashion and marketing execs are victims, bearing no responsibility whatsoever in feeding (pardon the pun) the frenzy that thin is, well, to die for.

Both marketer and fashion-conscious female, let me "weigh in":

As marketer: As much as we're working to push environmentally responsible products, we need to promote socially responsible messages (and models). In its "campaign for real beauty", Dove got it right--and landed Oprah's coveted support--by featuring average and above-average weight females in their advertisements that push less starvation, more self-esteem.

Heck, if we're not going to be responsible we might as well follow the money trail--with current obesity levels hovering at 30% of the population the real money is in the plus-size market, anyhow.

As female: Everywhere I turn I'm bombarded with you're-not-NEARLY-thin-enough messaging. And those messages are working. Take one of my dearest friends, having emigrated from the Dominican Republic several years ago, she suddenly lost consciousness for 10 minutes last summer. While in the ambulance with her I found out why her body had given out: she confessed she had stopped eating so as to look "more like American girls".

Even if we leave our jobs at 5pm our campaigns circulate 24/7. Let's make sure our messages advance not destroy--and let's lean on others to follow suit.

I applaud Madrid's decision and hope more marketers and fashion execs take a page from Dove's book. And to the women out there, here's my message...you're beautiful just the way you are.

Comments

[vaspers the grate aka Pluto the Planet]

And why are fashion design models so tall and manlike? Shows the clothing better? I cannot believe it. But I do love the way they walk.

Male chauvinist pigs and patriarchy, that's the problem. What happened to feminism? It used to be about "we reject male domination" and "we are not sex objects". Now it's (?).

[CK]

Actually, these days, it's more like marketers are the issue--selling illusions of body image that are so unattainable and really hurting women and girls. The correlation between eating disorders and fashion ads with undernourished models is undeniable.

I've no problem with showing great-looking models, just balance it...and stop hyping the emaciated types. I'm proud Spain and Italy are taking bold steps. Someone has to look out for our girls.

[Paul McEnany]

It's just part of a bigger problem of almost complete irresponsibility in marketing. The industry has turned otherwise good people into needy servants to the shareholders, doing whatever it takes to turn that next sale, no matter the cost.

Is it responsible to market candy to kids? To build another builboard? To waste more paper on direct mail? To play on human insecurities for financial gain? And on, and on...It's good to see some people standing up against capitalism gone bad.

[Lewis Green]

Paul, I think you have it right. We marketers must take responsibility for helping to create markets for products and services that can be harmful. I am not suggesting that marketers should not represent those companies producing harmful products and services; however, when we do represent them, let's do it as honestly and thoughtfully as we can.

CK, thank you for this thought-provoking post.

Vapers, laying blame on male domination is easy, but it doesn't lead to a solution.

[vaspers the grate aka Pluto the Planet]

So you have no ethics, then? You say "I am not suggesting that marketers should not represent those companies producing harmful products and services..."

This is a pretty bizarre statement.

I refuse to provide my marketing expertise to companies producing harmful, immoral, unseemly products.

I've been in advertising and direct marketing for many years. I don't buy that "if it's not illegal, I'll market it" idea. Many things are legal, but are harmful, etc.

Acknowledging male patriarchal domination system is indeed a stop toward solving the problem, though there is more to it. But that male exploitation of women is very much involved here with showing models who have the heroin chic and so forth.

But then again--America is the nation of fat asses.

[vaspers the grate aka Pluto the Planet]

P.S. I once did some work for a popular national large size men's clothing retailer chain.

The idiots produced a catalog that showed only, exclusively normal size men modeling the clothing. I asked why not show at least a few BIG men in the catalog?

I was told they have debated this for years, but the side that wants NO big men shown always wins.

Idiots.

A large size man cannot imagine himself in these large size clothes if the catalog shows normal size men wearing them. How stupid.