Original ad:

Analysis of original ad:

The so called “perfect” body images, much like what is depicted in the ad above, have been a major contributor in the creation of a culture of body shaming, negative self perceptions, and a range of unhealthy eating behaviors and eating disorders that affects the current generation of young women both physically and mentally. This Victoria Secret advertisement is an example of how the fashion industry in our current society is shaping the ideal image of women to one that is unattainable by the vast majority of the female population. The lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret have been infamously known for their models or “Angels,” that all share the typical supermodel features, especially in terms of their bodies, which although varies in skin color, is uniformly tall and skinny. This particular “I love my body” campaign that was posted on Victoria’s Secret webpage is advertising their new line of lingerie named the “Body” collection. However, the company cleverly utilizes the name, “Body” in this advertisement to convey the subliminal message regarding the “perfect body image of women” that have been the spotlight topic of criticisms of today’s fashion industry. The double meaning underlying the word “Body” brings the damaging effects towards women’s body images to another level. The campaign only addresses its product, the line of “Body” bras in the smaller, less noticeable black fronted phrase on the bottom left corner of the ad. The campaign also does not clearly state anywhere in this ad that by “Body,” they are address their new line of lingerie, now actual women’s bodies. A single glance at the ad directs the audiences’ attention towards the phrase “I love my body,” which seems like it’s telling the audience, presumably women, to love their bodies. However, the three models presented in the campaign all share the same slim built body that does not resemble the body of an average women. Thus, the seemingly empowering facade of empowerment conceals the brand’s intent of impairing their audiences’ self body-images, for the sole purpose of increasing their product revenue.

word count: 340

Jammed ad:

Explanation of Jamming Philosophy:

The alterations that I have made to the original Victoria’s Secret advertisement attempt to reveal the unhealthy messages that the brand either directly or indirectly delivers to its audiences. The use of a group of ethically diverse models draws the audience away from their similar body types and rather attempts to demonstrate their brand’s diversity through different shades of skin color. However, since the focused issue of this ad is the type of body image that the brand tries to enforce upon the general population, I made the originally colored image into a black and white one to highlight the problem. The additional alterations were done to the phrases that was printed across the ad. Instead of the pink “new!” label that draws the audience to the new line of lingerie, I changed the word into “conform!” Because the construction of the “perfect” female body is not a “new” phenomena in our current society, rather the brand is encouraging the participation of conforming to the trend of idealizing thinness as the perfect body type for women. Additionally, I changed the word in the phrase “I love my body” from “my” to “her” because there is only one body type presented in the ad by the models, which does not resemble an average body. I also changed the description in the bottom to emphasize the brand’s exclusive use of supermodels with a single standard body type that do not resemble a realistically achievable body goal. Instead of the option to “shop now,” the jammed version says “stress now,” as the lingerie will only feature more models with the same unrealistic body. Instead of “experience the bras,” I changed the phrase to “experience the pressure” to emphasize the pressure that has been put on women in our current society to be thin and idealize the models in the picture as what should be their body goal. I hope that the altered version of this ad reveals the damaging messages regarding how we should view our bodies. The alterations mocks the idea that there is only a single perfect body type.

word count: 348