Celebrating Body Positivity

Welcome to my Ad Review blog! 

In these blog posts, I will be sharing and reviewing ads that I love, as well as ads that I am not too fond of. We see ads all over the place; on tv, in magazines, through billboards, and on the internet. Personally, social media is one source of most of the ads that I am exposed to on a daily basis. When I am scrolling through my timelines, it seems like every other post is trying to get my attention and sell me something. While this can get annoying, sometimes it is a pleasant surprise. This was the case with this first particular ad campaign that I will be sharing.

Ad #1: Aerie Real 

The #AerieRealLife campaign was launched by Aerie in 2014. Aerie is a women’s clothing store affiliated with America Eagle, and they specialize in bras and swimsuits. The goal of the campaign was to use models that represented real women in society, as well as to use ad images of women’s bodies that had not been photoshopped or touched up. Since the launch, Aerie has gone on to make their ads even more real and relatable. They have included models with illnesses and disabilities. Pearl (2018) notes that these ads got a lot of attention on social media, with “…users praising the brand for its inclusivity. A few even noted that it was one of the first times they had seen someone with their disability or disease featured in such a public way…” (para. 6).

 Here is the article, which highlights some other really great aspects of the newer ads. 

(Image source: 2018, July 12. Aerie Continues Its ‘Real’ Streak, Casting Models with Illnesses and Disabilities. AdWeek. Retrieved September 2019, from  https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/aerie-continues-its-real-streak-casting-models-with-illnesses-and-disabilities/)

I was familiar with this campaign when it first launched, but I admit that after a poor experience, I had not been a fan of the quality of Aerie’s clothing back then. However, seeing that they have kept this campaign going strong for 5 years, and have no indication of stopping, made me really respect the brand and want to give their products a second chance. “Ads make promises to people all the time, but they tend to be implied or suggested promises.” (Silverman, Rader, 2012, p. 118). It is common for clothing companies to imply that their clothes will make you feel and look good. However, the 'promise' that Aerie now seems to be making is that you can feel beautiful in the body that you are already in, and they offer clothes to fit all of these body types. This went from a campaign that could have just been a trend, to becoming an entire movement and mission for the brand. This is definitely a movement that I support, and I hope to see more brands embracing body positivity and inclusivity like this! 



References:


“Introducing #AerieReal Role Models.” (2018, January 23). Aerie: Youtube. Retrieved September 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1xi9alPoO4

Pearl, D. (2018, July 12). Aerie Continues Its ‘Real’ Streak, Casting Models with Illnesses and Disabilities. AdWeek. Retrieved September 2019, from  https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/aerie-continues-its-real-streak-casting-models-with-illnesses-and-disabilities/

Silverman, J., & Rader, D. (2012). The World is a Text: Writing, Reading, and Thinking About Visual and Popular Culture (4th ed.). Boston: Prentice Hall.