Emily Fuchs

Original Advertisement

Analysis of Original Advertisement

The advertisement that I chose for this assignment is promoting Slim Fit Detox Tea. It features a thin, light-skinned, and feminine individual who is wearing a white bra and shorts. The top and bottom halves of the person in the advertisement are cut out of the picture, drawing the viewer’s attention to their small waist, which they are holding a tape measure around. The image of the person is presented next to a cup of tea sitting on a plate with two leaves and a tea bag. The person and the teacup are in front of a green, rolling field, mostly likely of tea plants. The text of the ad focuses on the ‘benefits’ of the product, making claims such as promoting fast weight loss, burning fat, and cleaning the digestive system. The logo at the top of the advertisement includes a silhouette of another thin and feminine individual striking a ‘sexy’ pose with another tape measure around their waist. The use of visual nature motifs (plants, leaves, the colour green) gives the impression that the detox tea is a natural product, however nowhere in the text of the ad is this specified.

The advertisement is problematic in a number of ways. First, it fully embodies and promotes diet culture, which falsely equates thinness with healthiness. Diet culture privileges thin individuals, shaming those whose bodies don’t fit conventional beauty standards. The advertisement also misleads viewers with a number of false claims about their product. Looking at the company’s website, the tea contains ingredients such as Ashwagandha root and Senna leaves. According to WebMD, neither of these ingredients (which can be found in most diet or detox teas) are proven to actually promote digestive health or lead to healthy weight loss (WebMD). Furthermore, the main medical use for Senna leaves is to reduce constipation, making it potentially unhealthy for an individual who is not constipated to consume. Overall, Slim Fit irresponsibly uses misinformation to sell their product, taking advantage of their viewers’ desire to fit conventional beauty standards within the context of diet culture.

Jammed Advertisement

Jamming Philosophy

My jamming philosophy for this advertisement was to replace any instances of misinformation about the product with truthful information. I also wanted to emphasize how companies use imagery that plays into diet culture to sell their products. To do so, I tried to retain the original visual style, elements, and layout of the advertisement while subtlety including accurate and truthful information rather than ridiculous claims. In making sure that the two versions are visually similar, my intention was that viewers will have to take a second look at both of the advertisements to notice the differences between the two, thus highlighting the important contrast in content.

To begin, I deconstructed the original advertisements into parts (e.g. the logo, the teacup, the text), determined any elements that I wanted to change, and then reconstructed the image into the new jammed version. I replaced both images of the thin individuals with tape measures around their waists with similar images of people looking uncomfortable on the toilet. Since the ingredients in the tea have no proven effect on digestive health or healthy weight loss, I thought it was more fitting to depict people experiencing the more likely laxative effects of the tea. I used a stock image of a white woman wearing white and a silhouette of a feminine figure on the toilet to match the style in the original advertisement, however this in and of itself is problematic. When searching through stock photos, the overwhelming majority feature white individuals which is not representative of the overall population and further emphasizes conventional beauty standards. I also replaced the majority of the text in the advertisement, making sure to remove any false ‘health’ claims and inform viewers of the possible health risks of the product.

Overall, I tried to highlight how ridiculous and problematic the original advertisement is. It uses low quality stock images and makes false health claims, yet there are people who are so greatly impacted by diet culture and conventional beauty standards that they will try anything to become thin. My jammed advertisement aims to emphasize how our culture often prioritizes appearance over health by falsely equating the two.

Works Cited

“Ashwagandha: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Dosage, and Warning.” WebMD, WebMD, https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-953/ashwagandha.

“Senna: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Dosage, and Warning.” WebMD, WebMD, https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-652/senna.

“Slim Fit Detox Tea.” Slim Fit, https://slimfitbody.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/slimfit-30days.jpg.