A beauty tip...

Today I'm talkin' beauty over at "the Fix". I'm giving marketers a much-needed makeover. And a tip in responsibility. One that image-driven industries have had coming for a while.

Think "average" doesn't sell? Think again. Think that sexpot over there on the left was a waif? That buxom babe was between a size 10 and 12. It's time to rethink beauty and the messages we're sending today's youth, unless we want our future target markets to all but...disappear.

Follow this pretty little link to my fashion-forward post. Btw, you are the picture of beauty (you have no need for a makeover).

Comments

[Lewis Green]

CK,

Why didn't I think of this? So simple yet brilliant! What am I talking about? Your link to your post at MarketingProfs. Way to go!

Lewis

[CK]

Well, I guess it makes me necessary :-). I did this last week too...it's a "teaser" and helps to drive traffic to that blog. We all help each other.

[Gavin Heaton]

I keep forgetting to do this ... but I took a leaf out of David Armano's book and added a new Typelist for all of the articles I put up on The Fix.

[Ann Handley]

CK -- Your post ignited GREAT discussion at the Daily Fix. Thank you. Some journalists have a good "nose" for a good story. You have a good nose for a killer blog post!

[Stephanie Quilao]

Hi CK. Great post! My blog is "Back in skinny jeans" where I talk about beauty and body issues and especially how the media and celebrities contribute to the issue. (I am also a former marketeer myself.)

The Dove evolution video did an outstanding job of educating people on just how much distortion goes on in beauty advertising, and that what we are chasing is a digital illusion. The models don't even look as good as their own pictures. It's one thing to airbrush wrinkles away, but it is a whole other thing to lengthen one's neck, stretch the eyes and move it around the face, and then shave off the nose and cheeks.

Of late, I've been on the topic of social responsibility on the part of the fashion world because recently they seem to really lack in that area. Beyond the "too skinny" blinders, there is the UK giving Kate Moss a "Model of the Year" award, and for Simon Cowell wanting to be on "Team Moss" and give her a music contract not because she can sing but because she's "fascinating." This is horrifying.

The media and fashion world is rewarding Kate for her bad behavior, and the companies who hired her to gain from her attention is just appauling because it's complete lack of thought in how this image will affect younger people who now think it is a career boost to get caught in a scandal. People make mistakes in their life, but Kate has done nothing to disway younger people from making her mistake.

Marketers are very powerful in the world and they know this. When they say that they are just reacting to what's popular, that is simply a cop out. Their job is to get us to buy more stuff so of course they are going to influence how consumers feel about themselves because they are bombarding us everyday with "pretty and thin" messages. When you hear it and see it enough, it changes from a thought to a belief. Good marketers are responsible and do consider the good of the whole over themselves, and in the long run, they will be respected by the consumers who buy from them.