BodyRock.TV

we all want to be healthy. all of us have our private reasons. this ad suggests that the size of this woman is hardly attractive. but thats subjective, isnt it? she could be much healthier than a thin person who does now work out. she may in fact work out herself. i see many people who work out religiously who have similar body types. i think that the ad conveys a degrading message: large is not sexy. large is ugly. large will never be sharon stone femme fatale (remember, that femme fatale was also a serial killer!). hm. i dont know. i think that the pursuit of fitness, like religion among other things, is a private one. we all have our motivations, and some people have no motivation in that respect. does that mean they are wrong or unattractive? no. unintelligent? no. its a choice that they are making to not seek physical fitness. just like my choice to seek physical fitness is a valid and private choice. its none of my business what the woman in that dress decides to do with her body or her life. its about time the media stops making it theirs.

that she may not be fit but she’s confident as hell :)

Well, it definitely sends a mixed message. They are advertising an apparently healthy yogurt. No offense to the model, but that weight cannot be healthy. It definitely doesn’t make me want to buy the product. It’s like they are saying that its alright to be that weight and feel good? Personally, for me, that weight is not alright. There are a lot of health problems associated with access weight, and i think that this type of ad is totally sending the wrong message. Like i said before, it does NOT make me want to eat the yogurt.

On a side note, i think this is a brilliant idea to post health-related ads and see people’s reactions. :)
Thanks you guys! You’re awesome, as always.

just…LOL :P

Thought: seems proud of her size and has that look in her eye that she doesn’t care what people think. She keeps a good distance from the can showing no hesitation to be reaching for it anytime soon.

I agree – this is an obvious copy of that famous scene from the movie Basic Instinct.

Thank you for the translation!

she does have an strange attractivness to her regardless of her unhealthy weight. I know men who perferr larger women, actually and, are constantly telling me to put on a few pounds . Beauty id in the eye of the beholder..

It seems that many are concerned with if this woman is healthy or not.
What is healthy? The image can be very misleading. Someone can be overweight but still be healthy. Not everyone can have a perfect body…. Yes she is on the heavier side but that does not tell the whole story. I used to be technically obese but I was able to run 10km, play soccer out side for hours and have more energy then most people that I knew… Was I healthy? yes… Is she healthy.. only she can tell us that…

I don’t mean for this post to sound attacking or anything… but I have been on the other side of the fence…

:D Have a great day!

When I look at this ad I see a woman who is not in shape but is confident. Confident because she has made a choice to eat healthy and to become physically fit. We all must start with the mental decision first. Once we make that choice to become healthier and more physically fit that is when the true changes begin. She has decided to do this there for she has a new found start to her self confidence already.

My first reaction is that I simply dislike all these “get fit” foods that are so hype right now. I mean, I love food and would NEVER replace it with a small yoghurt(or protein bar, shakes) per meal. And I doubt that anyone would do it if they had the option to eat real food. the problem with this ad (and those related) are that they don’t really care if you get healthier or not, just buy the low fat/low carb yoghurt…because they earn money of your low self-esteem that society brought. Not that I like unhealthy lifestyles but I believe that it is wrong to fool people they will get “fit” or slimmer by eating their healthy yoghurt or shake. I hope that I’m making sense… :-)

Very interesting new thing to bring up here on BR!
~with warmth,
Gabbie

the weight isn’t healthy, but by the look of her and how she is dressed..her attitude is!

unfortunately, somebody’s unhealthy way of leaving is becoming a large problem in our society. since the population of the overweight people is growing rapidly, the medical cost of the treatments is tragically increasing.
we are not talking about being obsessed with the exercise. maintaining a healthy weight through a healthy eating and some physical activities should be a norm for anybody. it is true that some thin people may be as unhealthy as the ones who are overweight. ex: holland is known as a country with a high number of people with a high cholesterol.

Nikki Oblonsky from “hairspray” was proudly declaring being happy about her weight, and getting a complete support from her mother on that. anotherwords, “I love myself just the way I am.” what kind of message are they trying to send to us?

I get mixed messages from this ad–if the translation another person provided is accurate, then… I don’t get it. “You are not what guys want, so give up. Buy this seemingly healthy yoghurt.” But… if I’m to give up, can’t I just eat a bar of chocolate then? Why the healthy stuff? I’m confused, lol.

Hi Krista,
I agree completely that the media has unfortunately painted a picture that overweight people are not attractive.

However, I do want to point out where you were an exception, obese and chronically over weight people are at greater risk for heart attack, congestive heart failure, sudden cardiac death, angina or chest pain, narrowing of the arteries, arterial blood clot, stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, gallbladder disease, chronic venous insufficiency, certain types of cancer, etc.

I understand that it no fun being on that side of the fence, but that’s why we are all here — for Zuzana and Freddie’s help to avoid those medical problems and lead a much healthier life. :)

Thank you Z & F

I think the translation of words is really important to the meaning of this ad. As someone else said, it apparently means “forget it! Men`s taste will never change.” The woman is put in a fancy dress with fancy makeup and a confident look on her face, but the first thing you notice is her weight. It’s harder to see all the other things that she might be, glamourous, confident, sexy, because what people notice first is size. So they’re saying, forget it, your confidence and glamour aren’t enough. I’m not really concerned with whether or not she’s healthy, because I don’t think that’s the point of this ad. It’s about image and it’s saying that to get the image men prefer, you should eat this yogurt.

I’m, of course, not stating my view on the matter, just what I think the view of this company is. :)

I have a mixed take on this ad! I can see the little yoghurt bit down the bottom saying “fit” which conveys a few different impressions for me – one of which would be that we put all this effort into cheap little gimmicks and shakes and all these supposed “get slim” foods, but the reality is, doing just that and paying all that money won’t yield results, as the picture could be suggesting. There’s a few other takes, but that’s my first impression and thought in regards to it …

Ohh I agree 100% that with the more someone becomes overweight the risk of many health problems increase. But my point is that you be seemingly overweight and still be healthy. :D

Like I said the picture does not tell the whole story.

Very good point thought mark.

What a wonderful ‘media event!’ While the model may be considered beautiful, with the implied message of a person who is confortable with their body and confident with their weight, she is definitely overweight and at risk. NO amount of ‘FIT’ desert is going to get her to a managable level of weight and/or fitness. The image is a well tailored, fine-tuned, comment about diet and obesity in most of the developed western world today – its great!

It’s the opposite of the commercials I always see… yes with a woman, but that one is socialy big. If I like it? Obviously not, because I’ve seen people, who look fantastikly great to me, sick after 30 min of exercises and others, looking way over weight, doing a 10K. The problem: the image that we have to socialy fit in. What is healthy? A healthy spirit, in a healthy body! The woman on the publicity, in my opinion, is pretty. But they havn’t advantage her with those closed. People having her size and a pretty face like her know how to dress in realty. The big woman in the middle of everything and the little yogourt in the corner. As usually, that commercial is using the social-fit-in pressure to sell their product.

Hi Kelsey – this is really close to how I interpreted the real message of this ad.

the message is that this woman is not sexy because she is overweight. the answer to her problem is to buy the yogurt, inset.
also, it looks like there was quite a bit of retouching done- either it was an average sized model and they made her look fat or it was a real woman who they manipulated to look presentable enough to sell the product without offending consumers to a high degree. she is sort of disproportional- her breasts are larger than her hips, neck is relatively thin as are her ankles- this makes me think computers were involved…

Ellie

Healthy or not – and carrying that much extra weight is certainly not healthy – to me the point is that the advert kinda suggests that eating a certain brand of yoghurt will make you thin, and we all know it won’t. Perhaps worse is the suggestion that you should be thin so that men find you attractive, rather than for all the real benefits in your own body and mind that being fit and healthy brings.

I’ve looked up the nutritional value of that yoghurt (http://www.itambe.com.br/Pagina/773/fit-zero-pieces-of-fruit-strawberry.aspx) and it has 20% more sugar than the ordinary plain natural yoghurt I buy.

Damn the ‘diet foods’ and ‘magic ab machine’ industries making billions of dollars from people’s misery.

:(

Hi Krista, I can understand your point of view and I appreciate the fact that you were there once, but I would also like to catagorically say that being overweight is in absolutely no regard healthy.
You (and by you I mean anybody) may eat healthily and not be a “sickly” person, but at the end of they day, being over weight is strenuous on your heart and ultimately on your body. ie your joints and back.
My Motto is we only have one body to see us through our entire life, lets look after it as best we can. xxx

I think that it is wrong to have a judgemental opinion about people who are over weight, how other people choose to lead their lives is truly no one elses concern. I do believe however, that should a person want to lose weight and lead a more active life-style it is absolutely acheivable.
there is one thing that i dislike about this advert, and that is the fact that they are suggesting that the only reason a woman should lose weight and look good, is for a man. How about doing it for yourself?

You can be in one of the most sexy scenes in the film industry (the one with Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct), but as long as you’re fat; no chance a men will find you attractive, so eat this product and be more desirable.

Actually i only saw the woman first and the yogurt later. I got the impression the add is saying: the yogurt is fitter and more healthy than the woman so go for the yogurt. Basically, the yogurt is more appealing, according to this picture…well it sure don’t make me want to go and buy that yogurt. However i think its in poor taste cause it re-enforces the stigma against overweight people. The people who made this add probably work their body but forget to work their brains.

Hi! :0) Thanks for the great input everyone else has made! The more I looked the more I saw!

I enjoyed this exercise in imagery – I hope to hear thoughts on the things I have noted for I see no one else has mentioned them.

She looks like she’s got a positive attitude/personality and looks strong/dry(the end of her dress resembles a gym towel, btw, the way it’s draped over her chair beside her, doesn’t it?)/and she looks about like she might take to wing (her right arm looks like it is actually lifted in the air due to the back-lighting and dark chair used and both arms look ‘lit up (maybe a little angelic).. not to mention she’s clad in white

..while the container of that ‘fit/tiny/drippy’ with what looks to be stale untextured looking nuts ungracefully coated, looking yogurt is actually sweating in the corner -there is a lot of condensation around it’s base -that seems odd to me that they would have chosen to present the yogurt cup in this fashion – unappetizing. I hate eating warm yogurt.

and she’s dry, looks cool and composed.. what went on in the production of this ad that they have the food sweat but the aka ‘plus-size model/female’ sitting pretty and dry? I don’t have an answer but the many implications are hard to overlook without posing the question.

My favorite imagery is that of the peach on the yogurt front. What thoughts do others sometimes use peach imagery to inspire? There is a lot of lude connotation regarding peaches and songs and hidden meanings behind peaches looking like female sexual organs. IMHO, there are other varieties of fruits they could have used without the sexual connotation that comes with the peach – and juxtaposed with the famous Sharon Stone ‘crotch shot’ scene.. ;) well, does this say something about the woman and yogurt or was this an inside joke of the food artist on the producer? Does this make anyone else sweat, in an uncomfortable way?

I took art classes in college so I’m no stranger to looking at the ‘age-old’ imagery often used in art/media. Hope no one minds me being a little brave and going a bit to the artist reasoning side of this post.
-Thanks for all you do with raising healthful awareness you bring to us all Z and F!

Yep clearly they’ve taken the iconic image of sexy (Sharon stone in basic instinct) and showen her as fat to make you think that fat is NOT SEXY. This is typical propoganda as your consious brain obviously draws that connection your subconsious is then in turn programed to think these thoughts. The reality is that these thoughts are not acctually your own thoughts they are manipulated by advertisers through ads like that. Come to Italy and study the art work, women who looked like this 100 years ago were the most desired women of all. Go to africa where before getting married a bride spends 3 months in a hut not moving except to be fed milk all day to make her as fat as possible for her husband, or just ask my friend steve who would never dream of being attracted to me cause my butt is small and my belly flat. I ignore ads and think for myself. If this ad is trying to convince me that yogurt will make me sexy I laugh in its face
“The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It’s the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows & the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years. ~”
— Audrey Hepburn
The reason people love you Zuzana is because your eyes reflect the beauty of your soul in a way your perfect body never will.
Hugz,
Sabrina.

I think they want to say that if a woman, even the fattest, will eat that product she’ll look hot like Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct.But I’m confused about the portion size… From the image I understand that only one tablespoon of that sugary yougurt can do the transformation. Because if we eat more we stay fat….

Well, when one looks at the person on the chair one might have a tendency to think she is unhealthy due to her weight. Then you look at the container of “yogurt” and see the word “Fit”.
Is this the new meaning of “Fit” ?
(I cannot read the fine printed logo beside the container of “yogurt”)

Another example is clothing size. I used to be a size 4, now I’m a size 0 – even though I have not physically changed sizes. I suppose I should feel better knowing I am now a size 0 according to industry standards – because, you know, they are the ones who know what’s cool, what’s not, &, in the case of this ad, what’s healthy to eat and the definition of fit.

Marketing creates new precedents.
This can be dangerous, especially to those who tend to go with the flow.

I think she’s beautiful!

and I would to add something to my first comment no matter how fat you are, you stay confortable and all you have to do for a hot look you must eat that yougurt. no effort at all

I agree with you Gabriella. The thing that I mostly disagree with is this attempt to fool people into eating the so called “light” or “fit” or whatever products. Eating a simple yogurt or a normal piece of cheese or whatever kind of food that has been around for thousands of years, is not going to make you fat in any way. As much as that light, artificial flavored yogurt is not going to help you loose weight in any way. This is all crap.
The thing with weight is pretty simple: the bigger the quantity of food you eat, the fatter you get along the years. This, off course, is a measurement that everyone has to make for himself, according to a lot of factors (metabolism, age, level of activity, etc.).
Also, eating mainly processed and hormone full foods, is going to “help” you with fat gaining even if you eat sensible portions.

Well, I certainly think people of all sizes can look good as long as they are happy with themselves. But being a health advocate, I would never feel ok with accepting overweight as the new norm (and I am sad to tell you, as an RD in training, that overweight is becoming the new normal). It’s not about aesthetics, not about feeling confident being overweight, it disturbs me because it is unhealthy! And it promotes for an even further explosing of % overweight/obese people in the world population. Do people really believe that if in the last 5 decades the % of overweight people has tripled, the same won’t go for the next 5 decades? Because I believe that if we don’t take it seriously (because telling people they are overweight isn’t ethical…), overweight will be the new standard weight, and the next will be obese..

As North American’s trend to 80% overweight/obese, as Type II diabetes rates skyrocket toward 1/2 of the population.

I don’t think this is insensitive. I think it’s an accurate portrayal of the health disaster that has just begun.

I’m scared for the state of the health care system, the work force, the future of children being raised by obese parents, and the effects of over consumption on the planet.

Dear Krista,
if being overweight was so ok for you and you were so healthy and full of energy as you said, I wonder why did you even bother to get “on the other side of the fence”? Just for the aesthetics?
I agree with you that being fat does not automatically mean you are less healthy than a thin person, and that the reality can be even the opposite, but, in my opinion, too much fat equals: not so healthy now, not so healthy when growing older, not so much energy for living and doing fun things, not so well balanced hormones, not so beautiful, and the list can go on.

I’ve got the same message while looking at this add.
Unfortunately most of the so called “healthy” choices are being successfully marketed precisely because they’ve got this kind of commercials attached.

Weird.
Before I knew the subline, I thought it might be like this:
“You don’t have to be slim to be fit”
I don’t think the woman is ugly. My first thought is rather that she’s probably not as healthy as a person with muscles. Seeing the “fit-yoghurt” just confirmed my first view. “The woman is fat, but she IS healthy, because she eats fit-yoghurt”.
Well, the subline absolutely changes everything! But it confuses me, because – if they wanted to picture the woman ugly, why did they photograph her in this way? I mean, she is obviously photoshopped, she has a fierce presence, she does not look weak or unhappy to me. She has a light cunning smile.
In the end, this add just makes me angry. The yoghurt is probably the unhealthiest thing ever, full of sugar, but low in fat. And slamming bigger people to look better is just awful in my opinion.
I am thin myself, I rather have to gain weight, but I know bigger people who are awesome personalities.
Also, I cannot see promoting health and fitness in this add. I cannot help but feel that the “fit” person the ad is promoting is one of those unmuscled skinny girls, who do lots of sport, are slim and everything, but cannot actually kick your ass. Instead of rubbishing bigger people they should just show some muscular and really sporty ones! But nooo… “muscles are manly” blabla…

you may be healthy at that point but the fact is if you dont lose the weight you will get sick evetually. and being overweight is not just because the lack of exercise its more important what we eat and our other habits. if you only exercise and dont eat right you can never be healthy. I’m not saying that we should all look perfect a few extra pounds doesnt mean you are unhealthy but this woman is seriosly obese

This is the thing yeah, the ad is hypocritical because it contains more fat than the supposedly unhealthy version. The Sharon Stone look to it is just a cheap and easy way to get viewers brains firing up with association.

Media is focusing too much on FOOD! Yeah eating healthy is a key opponent to losing weight but you still need to move that body. It has turned into such an OFF LIMITS kind of subject to talk to people about what they do to workout. Being fit doesnt mean being a size 0 or even a size 4. But it’s definetely not that size on the picture!! With a body like that, she can not be happy, and if she is, she is lying to herself.
Just Thxgiving alone has turned into an eating holiday! I teach group fitness, and i don’t know how many people came in before thxgiving to get an extra calorie burn before they eat… cuz that was the plan… and then they come in after thxgiving wanting to burn off those extra calories they put on during thxgiving. It’s sad that this country… and i mean America, cuz i think its the unhealthiest country when it comes to eating, has come to this. Why do we put these things in our bodies knowing they are bad. I’m no angel… but i care very much about my future. I now know the difference between how good, clean food makes me feel compared to unheathly options. Everything in moderation of course!
Just think about what you are doing to yourself!

This ad is definetely not an American ad is it?

J.

I agree! But usually you dont know if you’re unhealthy until something happens…

Insensitive or just a representation of reality? Why should we protect people from having what they look like acknowledged? I don’t think it’s society’s responsibility to protect the emotions of people who can’t even look after themselves. That it’s provocative, definitely. But if for some reason it makes you feel bad…that is just a reflection of how you feel towards yourself and how you feel towards yourself is ultimately your personal responsibility to change.

i’ll probably be booed off the site, given the comments thus far, so ill start with 1) i think we should not judge others as they may well have health issues that keep them overweight, and we also do not know what it’s like in another’s shoes. 2) in general, being overweight and simultaneously communicating confidence is difficult to do, because for the 99% of overweight people that dont have a disease, obesity is a measure, partially, of their weakness. i suppose some people also just dont care that much. the reason bodyrockers may be more fit is partially because we have a low tolerance for slackness in ourselves. i dont mean to say we shouldnt be tolerant, we should. but it is true that if everyone was as disciplined as the majority of us, there would be a lot less obesity. im tired of everyone giving overweight people some sort of break. to me, when i see this lady’s picture, i think undisciplined 3) i cant read that tiny text, but i do agree that exploiting obesity to sell something that wont do the trick by itself (its not a product that gets people fit, but a mentality) is a selfish thing to do and it isnt fair to everyone.

The lighting, her facial expression, pose, and dress are all supposed to give off a sexy vibe. But by using an overweight model, the ad is using the element of shock and confusion. Normally we’d see a skinny girl sitting in that chair looking beautiful, but now we see an overweight woman sitting in that chair who cannot achieve that same element of beauty.
The message I get is, “Don’t kid yourself. As long as you’re overweight, no amount of perfect lighting, makeup, and photo-enhancements are going to make you look beautiful to your peers. So eat this stuff and get skinny!”

I understand the whole point is to love everyone for who they are and not how they look. I live by this, however, I also believe in a healthy lifestyle. I kick my ass everyday to look and feel healthy. I make conscience efforts and decisions to enhance my living with being healthy. This picture shows a beautiful woman who doesnt care about herself from the inside out. Clearly she is not making conscience efforts to healthier life choices. That’s what I dont like about these ads. It’s providing an excuse for people that feel dont need to try to be healthy from the inside. I personally dont like to be around people who dont love themselves from the inside, so all in all….not a pretty picture at all in my opinion.

Taking it from another aspect though…..how do I know she hasn’t lost a bunch of weight already and is on her way to a healthy lifestyle? :)

I guess I read it a bit differently. Especially if, as someone said, the translation is “forget it, mens taste will never change”. I sort of read the point as, big is okay, lots of different body types are okay, and you can still be as confident and sexy as Sharon Stone. Eat healthy (i.e. this yogurt) and don’t worry so much about what the ‘perfect’ body type is, as long as you are confident in yourself. This is what I get from the ad.

I completely agree. You put as much meaning into anything as you choose to. The media is going to publish whatever it’s going to ^publish – it’s our choice whether or not to take it personally. :) Self-empowerment, yay!! :P

I like the fact you are interested in sociological issues! :) for me it shows that those popular movie scenes wouldn’t be as much appealing as they were if women presented in them were “fat”. For me it conveys such message “imagine Sharone Stone looking like that, would she still be that sexy, desired by men femme fatale? I don’t think so…” or “If you want to be desired as they were you have to think about losing weight, eat “Fit Yogurt” that will help you to get slim and be desired…” The description under the picture sums it up: “forget it! Men`s taste will never change.” It clearly states that we have to face the fact that there is a highly specific body image that is “appropriate” and desired and one believing that plus size women can be sexy is just fooling himself/herself…

EmmaShearer
It’s not a positively healthy image to encourage us to get out in all weathers and do a workout, it says couch potato stay in doors eat yoghurt and feel better about yourself… on the other hand it says it’s not always what’s on the outside that counts, it’s what’s on the inside that matters. But i would agree more with someone fitter, healthier and happier being in the advert so that my kid will aspire to be fit and healthy when he’s her age.
Not a good advert.

The spin on the advert (their spin, not mine!) is this;
“Forget about it. Men’s preference will never change. Fit Light Yogurt.”

This is also a Brazilian advert so things are a little different there.

Anuncian un yogur con la etiqueta de “fit” que esta tan bueno que hace que la gente gorda se olvide de que es un alimento para cuidar la linea y se lo compran seguros de que esta rico rico como el yogur con mas grasa del mundo. Tan segura esta, como yo, que escribo aquí seguro de que me diran de todo por no escribir en ingles. Saludos. iTin

I dislike this ad very much. I believe in health and fitness. I don’t believe in cruelty. This advert is cruel. It is saying, “Yuk, who want’s to look like her?”. This advert could send lots of people with eating disorders further into their downward sprial. Where is the positivity in this advert?…. Believe it or not, there are men who find large women very sexy. My brother, for example. He LOVES BIG women. I love keeping slim and fit, that’s my prefernce, my choice. But we’re all individuals, right? I just think there would be a much more positive way to advertise yoghurt, I mean – come on, it’s yoghurt…. there’s no need to get personal.

I think they are trying to say she needs Fit fruit and yogurt. but why the too small dress? I don’t know.

Ok, I think that I’m the only one that doesn’t see anything wrong with it. She looks like a confident business like women who is overweight. There are many her (over weight) and not many ads showing people like her. So my thought is that many people can relate to her and say hey maybe if I eat that light yogurt I’ll feel good in my own skin. :D

she looks very unhealthy but confident and happy

guys, guys, this was a part of ad campaign for brazil Fit light yougurts. This is supposed to be Sharon Stone in Basic instinct which is considered as one of the most sexy scenes ever, then there were obese Marilyn Monroe with white dress and that fan of air getting her skirt up, and for example obese girl from American beauty lying in roses. The message is up to you.

First an foremost, we know that smiles and confidence behind a camera can be deceiving.

This says to me, ” See, she is over weight AND happy AND confident!,…she eats yogurt, which is good for you, but it doesn’t mean she is trying to be thin.” “Just because you eat healthy food doesn’t mean, you have to be on a restrictive/weight loss diet”.

I am all for people being secure in their own skin.
But I don’t care how they make it, and dress, or sing it, or dance it up,…being over weight is simply not healthy.

This is very interesting food for thought. Do you still have those other images? I would love to see this Pop Culture section continue.