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Robin Keetch
English 1010.40
Dr. Sean M. George
16 September 2015
True Beauty
Women are under constant scrutiny: lose weight, get rid of wrinkles, get perfectly white
teeth, dress provocative, and look like a model for crying out loud. Through advertisement, the
media sets the standard for how women should look and dress. The size zero, one hundred pound
model thats being portrayed is the definition of beautiful. If a woman doesnt meet that criterion,
she is considered overweight and unattractive. When women cant live up to this typical looking
woman, they develop a low self-esteem. Recently, however, there have been advertising
agencies that have tried to change the way of thinking of society. The companies H&M, Dove,
and Lane Bryant have produced ads that recognize womens true beauty: themselves.
The first ad by H&M is promoting their swimwear worn by a full-figured woman. Right
away the ad grabs our attention; and not because she is full-figured, but because the woman is
very attractive. The woman shows her beauty and confidence as she wades in the tropical blue
water. She has a curvy, yet toned body, but is nothing close to a one hundred pound model. Her
long, beautiful, dark hair is swept to the side in a braid. She is sporting a flirtatious black bikini,
and wears a bracelet to add a little bit of sexy. Shes photographed in beautiful beach waters,
with white waves in the background. The only text on the page is H&M bikini top, $24.95.

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H&M has taken a woman that is opposite of
skinny and frail; she is gorgeous and
curvaceous, and puts a new, fresh face to
models. She flaunts her beautiful figure in black
swimming attire that is sexy and implies her
self-confidence. Its not that of a regular model,
and she is happy to own it. Her posture suggests
she has faith in herself and knows that she will be turning heads. The lack of text in this ad
implies that not only is the company advertising their plus-size clothing line, but is truly trying to
promote their plus-size model. This ad reminds us to be confident with the qualities that we each
individually attain, and anyone can look stunning in a swimming suit.
Doves advertisement is similar to H&M. Dove is promoting its 24-hour nourishing
lotion while, at the same time, encouraging self-esteem. The African American woman pictured
has a curvy, flawless physique. She has a beautiful smile with glowing
white teeth, and her thick, black hair is pulled into a ponytail with a
piece placed on top of her shoulder. Her posture suggests shes a little
shy, at the same time cheerful and secure. Shes clothed in a white bra
and underwear signifying innocence, purity, and perfection. The
photographer shot her against a pure white background that makes her
stand out. Blue lettering runs across her body, grabbing our attention. A picture of the Dove
nourishing lotion is strategically placed in the bottom right hand corner of the page, trying to be a
subtle attention grabber.

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The question in blue letters, What if every woman loved every inch of her skin?
suggests lack of self-confidence and self-esteem that women in general have. This is a rhetorical
question with an added pun. Dove has taken a confident, curvy woman, clothed in white
underwear, to make a statement (but not necessarily answer) to their question: beautiful women
come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Dove has done a very good job in this advertisement to
subtly promote their product as well as self-esteem. Next to the small picture of Dove lotion in
the bottom right corner is a description. In the essay, With These Words I Can Sell You
Anything, William Lutz says, Every word in an ad is there for a reason; no word is wasted.
Your job is to figure out exactly what each word is doing in an ad what each word really
means, not what the advertiser wants you to think it means. Even though Dove is advocating
womens self-esteem, the description implies that if you do not use their lotion to nourish your
skin, you will never love it. It also contains the word Nutri-Serum which is a scientific word
and therefore makes a scientific claim. To add to the self-esteem portion of the ad, in the upper
right corner, there is an address for a website: campaignforrealbeauty.com. If the viewer visits
this website, he or she will find Doves campaign of raising awareness to womens self-esteem
and beauty. In the first paragraph of the article on the website it states, The campaign started a
global conversation about the need for a wider definition of beauty after the study proved the
hypothesis that the definition of beauty had become limiting and unattainable. Among the studys
findings was the statistic that only 2% of women around the world would describe themselves as
beautiful. This ad is appealing to women in general because of the ads puncture of beauty
stereotyping. Reminding us that thin isnt the definition of beautiful.
In my final print ad, Lane Bryant has photographed six stunning, full figured women as if
they are in a fashion show. Each woman is dressed in a seductive, black bodysuit, with an

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overcoat that radiates elegance.
All are wearing sexy high heels
or boots to finish the clever outfit.
Each models stance shows self
confidence and poise. The black
and white image makes the
women more captivating by
making them all appear
elegantly similar, concealing
their real differences. #PlusIsEqual is in bright, white words on the bottom right page. The
company name Lane Bryant at the top of the ad stands out against the grey background.
Lane Bryant is obviously advertising their plus-size clothing line, but the clothing store
is doing it in a brilliant way. They have taken gorgeous, full figured ladies, dressed them in
stunning outfits, and turned them into the typical model without them being stick thin. They look
as if they are walking down the runway. These women are showing high self-esteem as they
flaunt their curvy figures. The advertisement is in black and white to make a major statement,
Hey, we may be curvy, but we are all beautiful. We represent. The only text in the ad, besides
the company name, is this: #PlusIsEqual. This is Lane Bryants campaign for the media to
recognize fashion for all sizes of women. Plus-sized women are just as beautiful and stylish as
any other woman. We are all unique and should rejoice in our physical characteristics.
These companies have begun to advertise with these women who arent the typical
model. These women are the opposite of skin-and-bone, and closer to the body size of the
average woman. By using these images of beauty, companies are hoping to change the way our

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culture and media view women in general. In the essay, The Hard Sell: Advertising in
America, Bill Bryson states, .advertising is a phenomenon in the modern age. Advertising
has a strong impact on people. The goal is to raise awareness to womens self esteem and their
true beauty. Being beautiful is not being underweight and flawless, but being yourself however
you are.

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Works Cited
Bryson, Bill. The Hard Sell: Advertising in America. Reading Pop Culture: A Portable
Anthology. Ed. Jeff Ousborne. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. 120-35. Print.
Dove Body Nourishers. Dove. Advertisement.
H&M Swimwear. H&M. Advertisment. Cosmopolitan. 2013 May. Print.
Lutz, William. With These Words I Can Sell You Anything. Reading Pop Culture: A Portable
Anthology. Ed. Jeff Ousborne. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. 62-70. Print.
Plus Is Equal. Lane Bryant. Advertisement. Glamour. 2015 October. Print.

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