Original Victoria Secret Advertisement
(Slogan: BODY by Victoria ALL YOU NEED IS CURVES)

Victoria’s Secret is notorious for promoting unrealistic body images. Ever since Victoria’ Secret’s “The Perfect ‘Body’” and “Love my Body” campaign, people (both male and female) have stood out and spoken about the problem their advertisements are causing. This advertisement is no different. The first thing people notice on this poster is this gorgeous, skinny model with a toned body, flawless skin, and perfect hair. This is the power of Photoshop. Photoshop is used to “perfect” this girl’s appearance. Credit can be given for working hard on a body she can be proud of, for winning the genetic lottery and having distinctive facial features and good body proportions. This advertisement, however, takes it too far.

Given that this is an advertisement for lingerie, I believe it is acceptable for the model to only wear a bra and underwear; however, the pose the model assumes is debatable. Although one part of lingerie is to seduce your partner, suggesting the provocative behavior in a PG environment is inappropriate. This sends a message to adolescent women saying that you must act a certain way to be considered a “attractive”. Additionally, teenage males may be brainwashed to think only this body type is attractive.

Furthermore, the slogan “BODY by Victoria all you see is curves” poses another controversy to this ad. The word “BODY” more or less implies that this body shape is THE body shape to have; any other shape is unacceptable, especially for a Victoria’s Secret model. “All you can see is Curves” implies women have a thin waist and large breasts.

In my jam, I will be addressing the slogan on this ad to better fit what the model is depicting. Additionally, I will attempt to change the model in a way to de-sensualize the image without disrupting what Victoria’s Secret is trying to advertise.

Culture Jammed Image
(Slogan: Fake by Victoria ALL YOU NEED IS PHOTOSHOP)

From this advertisement Jam, I did not change the appearance of the model. Instead, I attempted to create a slogan that fit the model better. By changing the word from “BODY” to “FAKE”, I want to send the message that this body isn’t real. It is photoshopped (as written in the second line). As well, without the word, the implicit meaning of this body shape being ideal is removed. There are many different body shapes and sizes in the world: A-line, hourglass, pear, or size two, seven and so on. All of them are beautiful; none of them are THE most ideal.

In my opinion, the second phrase conveys a more important message: “all you see is Photoshop.” While I do believe this model really is beautiful, it is hard believe that any human is blemish-free; this photo has obviously been modified. This is important for young girls to know.

The reason I didn’t change the model’s appearance to something more realistic (example: add a zit on her or some moles) and instead opted to change the slogan was because I believe educating everyone about the power of photoshop is more important. I understand that I am not the first person to do so as there are various sources such as the model to pizza, however, many adolescent women continue to become slaves to these unrealistic portrayals.

Finally, I tried (and failed) to change the model to a more neutral standing position; however, I somewhat successfully transformed her lingerie from black to white. Originally, the black lingerie blended into the background putting emphasis and thought to the “nether regions.” By changing it to white, it is more apparent the advertisement is for under garment.

Overall, the changes I made to this advertisement was to transmit the idea that the model has been unrealistically altered. It is unnecessary and unhealthy to follow these strict “beauty” standards. Beauty really does come in all coulor, shapes and sizes.