"The Perfect 'Body'"as advertised by Victoria's Secret in Fall 2014
The purpose of this advertisement is to persuade high to middle class women to buy Victoria's Secret's new line of lingerie by telling women that these garments will allow them to finally have the "perfect" body. The commercial's intended audience are wealthy to middle income women because Victoria's Secret is a relatively expensive brand. The audience recognizes the brand because of its famous "Victoria's Secret Angels", who are the supermodels, and the "Victoria's Secret Show" that airs every year, showing thin, long-legged, busty supermodels wearing high heels, extravagant wings and lingerie, strutting down a run-way to music performed live by popular music artist's.
This advertisement associates with envy because it is displaying a body image that they think their customer wants to achieve. The supermodels displayed are called "Angels" who are famous for only their societal ranking on the "hotness" meter. Victoria's Secret wants the audience to believe they will look "perfect" with the use of their "perfect" bras. They repetition of the word "perfect" resonates with the audience that this is what the ideal image of a perfect body looks like and what they could have if they purchase the bra. Their slogan was very offensive and harmful because it perpetuated low self-esteem among women who are made to feel that their bodies are unattractive and imperfect because they do not fit the narrow societal standards of beauty. This advertisement also contributes to the encouragement of negative body imaging and eating disorders in society. The realization of this message led an audience of 27,000 people sign a petition to remove the slogan. Victoria's Secret changed the slogan to "A Body for Every Body" after the negative reaction displayed by customers. However, they did not change the picture showing women who have relatively the same body, leaving their audience unhappy with the brand.
Kelsey-
ReplyDeleteBe sure you do more with the little picture- look at and cite specific examples of format, structure, language, etc. It will strengthen your analysis and provide more depth/ examination of effect in your big picture
I like how you associated this image with envy. The audience looking at the picture would most likely be jealous of the model's "perfect" bodies and want to be similar to them. In addition, the repetition of the word "perfect" adds to the idea that in order to be perfect, a woman needs to be busty, tall, long-legged, and have a flat stomach. I also agree with your statement that since Victoria's Secret is illustrating the way a woman's body should look, many women have low self-esteem. I like that Victoria's Secret changed the slogan to "A Body for Every Body" because as a lingerie company, they need to cater to women of all body types.
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