This advertisement represents Protein World. The product being advertised is Protein World’s Weight Loss collection, which is a set of products and a program that helps with losing weight in a short amount of time. The ad was not well received by the public as it implies the “proper” beach body is only the body time the model has in the photo, which is not necessarily even strong, weightlifter body type, despite the brand being for exercise supplements. Rather, the model is very thin and may have had plastic surgery on her breasts. Also, the ad implies that in order to be beach body ready, you must lose weight. However, for some girls to look like this model, they may even feel the need to gain weight to have more breasts or more curves. Moreover, colouring the model in black and white may imply that there is no “colour” in who she is, rather, what matters is what the yellow colour is covering (her breasts and bikini bottom). Overall, the ad contradicts itself. Protein World’s tagline says “Healthier / Fitter/ Stronger” but losing weight in a short amount of time and not eating a well-balanced diet is not healthier. Drinking the shakes in replacement of meals may help one lose weight, but they will not be fitter or healthier without other essential nutrients and a sustainable exercise routine. To imply that this collection will affect every body type the same is also a harmful assumption, as every body type is different, and some people’s bodies could not react well to that much whey mix being in their digestive system, making them actually sick. The below culture jam will be altering the message to make it less self-contradicting.
The culture jammed advertisement below shows a more accurate tagline,
the key message, the blurred face of the model, as well as the endnote. The tagline of “Healthier / Fitter/ Stronger” is replaced with “skinnier / sicker / poorer” as the ad is not for health, but for unstable quick weight loss at a heavily marked up price. This add promotes that your body is the sole measurement of what makes you “beach ready” and that you shouldn’t go to the beach if you aren’t “beach body ready”. This translates into a clear message of “you are not good enough as you are, you need our product to fix yourself”. The blurred face of the model is to emphasize that the add already is showing that the model, who she is, is not what matters. What matters in the advertisement is what the bikini covers, and that there should only be a skinny body (but with curves!) surrounding those areas. The ad implies that your body dictates whether you are ready to go to the beach, or not. The labeling of “The Weight Loss Collection” changed to “Let us try and fix you. Buy our overpriced whey powder” because the unsaid promise is that the whey powder will transform any woman to look like the model, which is highly unlikely. Switching out meals for whey powder and taking certain supplements will not create a healthier body, and may even hurt it. It is sad to see a leader in the protein supplement world take such a stance for a profit.