Emmestyle

Skinny Pretzels Part Two - Supermodel Emme tells advertisers to “Stop being so lazy.”

UPDATE: I just received an e-mail for Perry Abbenante, the VP of marketing for Pretzel Crisps who said:

“Based on the feedback received from you and other bloggers, we are switching directions with our ad campaign and will be taking the ‘You can never be too thin’ ads down.”

Smart decision!

————————

Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor is the lady we have to thank for gracing the world with the phrase, “You can never be too rich or too thin.”

It’s something we’ve heard countless times in pop culture, and usually associated with vapid, wealthy women who obsess over the superficial. But it’s also incredibly played out. And that’s why Pretzel Crisps’ new ad campaign with the slogan, “You can never be too thin…” is just simply irresponsible.

This is 2010 and we’ve been through 20 plus years of these kind of messages shoved in our faces. Consider that Jean Kilbourne has made four Killing Us Softly films since 1979 documenting all of the incredibly damaging and irresponsible ads that have helped contribute to a society where more than 10 million people in the US alone have eating disorders, and millions more suffer from body image issues. It’s 2010 and it’s enough.

I was put off enough by the Pretzel Crisps ad to call up the National Eating Disorders Association and get their thoughts on the ad. NEDA put me in touch with supermodel and clothing designer, Emme, who is also the founder of the Body Image Council - a group with the goal of increasing public awareness around eating disorders, obesity, body image and self-esteem “through innovative media, big industry, public policy and an overhaul of the school lunch program throughout the K-12 educational system.”

As the world’s first plus size model (who was twice named one of People’s “50 Most Beautiful People”), Emme knows a thing or two about beauty and expectations, and was more than candid when asked her thoughts on the ad.

She agreed the ad was irresponsible but more than that, “It’s heartless and not compassionate, and more than anything just lazy.”

Ads that prey on our insecurities are the bread and butter of the advertising industry but Emme is ready to call marketers out saying that, “It’s so passé, it’s cheap and old. They are just repeating what has been done in the past, I mean be creative. If they were smart wouldn’t go for the low blow or the cheap trick.”

She should tell that to Perry Abbenante, the VP of marketing for Pretzel Crisps and one of the brains behind the ad.

According to Abbenante, the poster was one of four ads in a new campaign that officially launched on Monday. Other slogans you are likely to see popping up around New York include:

“Perfect for skinny dipping,” “A new star in the Garden,” (in reference to the product being sold at Madison Square Garden) and the kicker, “Tastes as good as skinny feels,” as a play on the phrase “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels,” uttered last year by super-waif Kate Moss, and a known mantra of “thinspiration” upheld by the pro-anorexic community.

“It’s a thin pretzel and thin is just an attribute of the product,” he said. “We’re a small company, and we had to come up with something that would catch people’s attention in a short amount of time.”

Abbenante said the ads aren’t meant to be taken literally and that the company apologizes if people take offense to the ad’s message.

While the company denies the ad is about anything other than the dimensions of its product, it seems that maybe they should own up to the fact that they were being really lazy when it came to trying to create a clever campaign.

World's First Full-Figure Supermodel Partners with Largest Plus-Size E-Tailer

NEW YORK, July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- OneStopPlus.com, the premiere online destination for curvy women who demand high style in plus-size fashion, announces influential plus-size model Emme as the brand's new ambassador. As an advocate for OneStopPlus.com, Emme will serve as an all encompassing consumer and media liaison, through the establishment of a social networking presence on Twitter and Facebook, as well as through the OneStopPlus.com website, offering blog videos, Q&A's and more.

"Emme is an icon and role model for women of all ages and we are thrilled for her to be joining the OneStopPlus.com team. She has revolutionized how plus sizes are represented within the fashion industry, personifying the beauty of and serving as a powerful voice for curvy women in America. She will undoubtedly bring a great deal to our brand," says Stephanie Sobel, President of OneStopPlus.com Group.

As one of the first and most visible curvy models within the fashion industry, People Magazine has twice recognized Emme as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People," and was honored by Glamour Magazine as "Woman of the Year." In addition to her modeling career, Emme is a seasoned author, television personality, lecturer, host of FOX's hit reality series "More to Love," and a clothing designer. Emme is also a known advocate for a healthy body image and self-esteem, much like OneStopPlus.com.

"My partnership with OneStopPlus.com is a fabulous opportunity to reach, not just women with curves, but all women around the world – regardless of size, shape or body type. I hope the rest of the fashion industry takes note of what OneStopPlus.com is doing," notes Emme.

For more information, please visit: www.onestopplus.com.

About OneStopPlus.com®

OneStopPlus.com® is the world's first and only web-mall for plus-size women and big & tall men. The OneStopPlus.com® philosophy for plus-size women is reflected in every aspect of its website. The look and feel is upscale and the collections are not considered simply as clothing, but fashion. Plus-size women now have the same fashion choices as their size 8 counterparts, with access to everything from the classics to what's right on the mark in terms of the latest trends. Featured on this website include leading designs in American and European plus size fashion from Woman Within®, Roaman's®, Jessica London®, AVENUE®, Taillissime and Ellos. OneStopPlus.com® is a Redcats USA brand.

About Redcats USA

Redcats USA is a dynamic, multi-channel, web-driven home-shopping leader, with numerous well-known brands in its portfolio: AVENUE®, Woman Within®, Jessica London®, Roaman's®, KingSize®, BrylaneHome® and BrylaneHome® Kitchen sold on OneStopPlus.com®, The Sportsman's Guide® and The Golf Warehouse™. Redcats USA offers a wide range of value and quality driven merchandise categories, including men's and women's plus-size apparel, home and lifestyle products, and sporting goods/outdoor gear. Redcats USA is a Redcats company. For more information: Redcats.com.

SOURCE OneStopPlus.com Back to top

RELATED LINKS http://www.onestopplus.com

Ithaca

When you start on your journey to Ithaca, then pray that the road is long, full of adventure, full of knowledge. Do not fear the Lestrygonians and the Cyclopes and the angry Poseidon. You will never meet such as these on your path, if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine emotion touches your body and your spirit. You will never meet the Lestrygonians, the Cyclopes and the fierce Poseidon, if you do not carry them within your soul, if your soul does not raise them up before you.

Then pray that the road is long. That the summer mornings are many, that you will enter ports seen for the first time with such pleasure, with such joy! Stop at Phoenician markets, and purchase fine merchandise, mother-of-pearl and corals, amber and ebony, and pleasurable perfumes of all kinds, buy as many pleasurable perfumes as you can; visit hosts of Egyptian cities, to learn and learn from those who have knowledge.

Always keep Ithaca fixed in your mind. To arrive there is your ultimate goal. But do not hurry the voyage at all. It is better to let it last for long years; and even to anchor at the isle when you are old, rich with all that you have gained on the way, not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage. Without her you would never have taken the road. But she has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not defrauded you. With the great wisdom you have gained, with so much experience, you must surely have understood by then what Ithacas mean.

-K. P. Kavafis (C. P. Cavafy), translation by Rae Dalven

Wishing you a wonderful 4th of July celebration with those you love!

Join us for this free webinar by PBS’ This Emotional Life and the Body Image Council, an international program of NEDA

Wednesday, June 9, 2010 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST

In a media-saturated culture that glamorizes perfection, is it possible to ever feel good about ourselves? Join a team of experts and celebrities for a discussion about how we can empower ourselves to set our own standards of body image and happiness.

Moderated by Emme, NEDA Ambassador, founder of the Body Image Council, supermodel, author, lecturer and nationally recognized women’s advocate for positive body image and self esteem

Meet the Panelists: Susan Blumenthal, MD, Distinquished Advisor for Health, Science and Medicine Center for Study of the Presidency, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Georgetown School of Medicine Daphne Oz, author of the bestselling Dorm Room Diet series Whitney Thompson, winner of Cycle 10 of America’s Next Top Model and NEDA Ambassador
Kimberlee Salmond, Senior Researcher at the Girls Scouts Research Institute

Register Now!

Or cut and paste this into your browser:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1ou0QwSf0w&feature=playerembedded>

National Eating Disorders Association

603 Stewart Street, Suite 803 Seattle, WA 98101 P: 206.382.3587 F: 206.829.8501 info@nationaleatingdisorders.org www.NationalEatingDisorders.org

Thank you to our generous Sustaining Sponsors for helping to make our programs and services possible—PLATINUM: Rader Programs and Remuda Ranch. GOLD: Rogers Memorial Hospital. SILVER: CRC Health Group, Park Nicollet Melrose Institute and University Medical Center at Princeton. STEEL: Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt, Eating Recovery Center and McCallum Place. BRONZE: BALANCE eating disorder treatment center, Cambridge Eating Disorder Center, Oliver-Pyatt Centers, Pine Grove Women’s Center and The Renfrew Center.