Entry #3: The Growing Obesity Epidemic

I'd like to start this entry off by giving some context to the opinions about to be expressed. In such academic situations as this, I prefer to keep my written work at an arm's length — meaning that I very rarely blatantly affiliate my personal opinion with the information I am trying to express. However, the topic about to be discussed holds great significance in terms of my personal life choices. I am a vegetarian who has spent the last year educating myself (and others who are interested) on the terrifying effects of processed and genetically modified foods. My diet consists of 60-70% pure produce, with a goal of reaching a 100% pure, raw, vegan lifestyle in mind and heart. I am deeply emotionally invested in the topic of healthy eating, but I digress...

It is often discussed how the problem with wide-spread obesity is most prominent in the United States, with $4 billion dollars being spent annually on fast-food advertising, however, as Canadians, it is important to realize that this problem exists much closer to home than we'd like to think. Fifty-nine percent of Canadian adults are currently overweight or obese, making it clear there exists a problem somewhere in the communication between the food industry and the public.

The advertising industry has been pinned as the source of all evil in this situation, however I honestly think the anger is completely misplaced. In my opinion, it doesn't make sense to shoot the messenger, per say. The advertising industry exists as a means of communicating product knowledge and availability to the masses — they literally exist as a middle-man. The companies that feed the fantastical idea that garbage food will make you happier, healthier, and more vital are essentially paid to tell you these things by ginormous fast-food industry leaders, such as McDonald's, Subway, & Burger King. I understand where the frustration comes from as these advertising gurus use their knowledge and understanding of the human psyche to convince and often manipulate people, but it is their job. The advertising industry exists to solely do this.

Despite the advertising industry's lack of responsibility for preventing and reversing mass-obesity, in my opinion, it cannot be argued that they do play a major role in (literally and figuratively) feeding the obesity epidemic. By creating this deceptive imagery and blasting it out to the masses, they fuel the fire that is wide-spread obesity. It is no secret that they have perfected the art of manipulation and smart communication (for example, by ensuring that 50% of all fast-food advertisements are played during children's television programs) and I feel they definitely take advantage of this complex understanding of how the human mind and emotion works.

Seeing as these monster fast-food companies are the source of the problem and will pay billions of dollars annually to upkeep the fast-food facade (in 2007, $7billion was spent on fast-food advertising in the United States) and the advertising industry cannot be held responsible for doing its job exceptionally well, the social responsibility lies entirely on the higher power — the government. Where has the government been in the midsts of all of this? Why have they allowed such blatantly destructive information be fed to the masses, especially young children. The worst part is that children are most easily impacted by the fast-food industry & it has been widely understood that childhood obesity is rarely outgrown. Essentially, the government is allowing the disgusting, destructive fast-food industry kill our future generations. Why has the government not stepped in to stop the slow mass-murder of the North American society? I understand political lobbying holds a strong hold on the laws that are passed in terms of fast-food advertising, but there needs to be a time when the government takes off their blind-fold and realizes that they are murdering their children and their countries — not the fast-food industry. There is such a lack of social responsibility that deeply upsets and hurts me.

And part of me entertains the possibility that maybe the government is purposely lulling the masses to a state of complete government dependance (with fried food & carcinogenic chemicals) in order to prevent anyone from questioning their true intent — making money from the lobbyists (CocaCola spent $5,890,000 on government lobbying in 2011). I don't doubt that many involved in the government are fully aware of the problem at hand and continue to enable it.

This also brings me to my final point, which seems to remain consistent with other topics discussed on my blog — the responsibility has to lie on the individual. I understand it can be impossible to see through the greasy fog and beyond to the truth about health and food, but it needs to be done. Individuals in society who have come to a higher understanding of what real food and vitality looks like have to share their knowledge and spread the truth. As a society, we cannot rely on people in power and with money to protect us, we have to protect and educate ourselves. Once the mind has been opened to the harsh reality, it becomes to obvious that the fast-food industry is just one of many industries fuelled by lies, hate, and worst of all, money. By not buying into the lies these monster companies are feeding us, we slowly stop fuelling the fire and the obesity epidemic will cease. Social awareness is critical. We have to educate ourselves, ask uncomfortably confrontational questions about what really happens to our food, and be willing to find the truth.

Once we stop giving our money to these industries, they will either change their ways to suit the societal demand for healthier, natural products, or they will cease to thrive & eventually disappear. We have to stop blaming others, and assess our own personal morals and habits in order to better ourselves as well as future generations.

Entry #2: Photoshop's Blurred Lines

As briefly mentioned in the previous post, there exists a fine line between promoting products using completely fantastical imagery and poisoning the standard of beauty in a consumer's mind. This is explicitly displayed in the modern-day beauty and fashion industry. Advertising companies had originally made use of Adobe Photoshop, a picture and graphic editing program, as a means of better communicating the benefits of their products — wearing these jeans will make you feel & look thinner! However, it has become clear that the original intent of this message has become tainted and completely convoluted, whether it be on behalf of the consumer mis-interpreting the use of beautiful, thin models, or whether the fashion & beauty industry purposely intended on changing the definition of beauty through the use of beautiful, thin models remains unclear. Therein lies two problems with this widespread change in social consciousness, the first being that, although the consumer is openly proclaiming their distaste and hurt by the new standard of beauty, they, not only continuously spend billions of dollars on these hurtful, tasteless, and crude brands, but they continually openly reject any form of beauty advertised that doesn't match this disturbing, illusionary standard that exists. This leads to the second problem which is that all beauty & fashion brands and contributors still employ the use of editing software for every single advertisement created because it is expected of them. By producing this delusional, distasteful reality, jobs are created, money is made, and the economy continues to steady. All in all, there exists a vicious cycle of hurt, misunderstanding, and perhaps even misinterpretation between the consumer and the seller.

That being said, my personal opinion sides with those individuals who question the integrity of photoshop. Despite advertising companies employing the use of Photoshop in order to better communicate the benefits of their products, I feel the final advertisement product is so far from the beginning image that they have created a level of personal beauty expectation that is quite literally impossible to achieve. Through research, it becomes clear that featuring an un-edited photograph of a model or product is not an option. It has become an expected norm amongst beauty companies to receive fully edited & perfected versions of photographs from the paid advertising companies. One could even go so far as to say that all models are photoshopped and that only a very minimal portion of the advertising world represents an average person's reality. This being said, it is a matter of opinion whether these mystical realities created by ad campaigns is intended to be interpreted as reality or metaphor – it really depends on the product being sold and the consumer that is being targeted. With this in mind, consumers' best interest should always be kept in mind, especially in the fashion & beauty industry as it has become clear its consumers' personal and worldly expectations of beauty have become so impossibly narrow and negative in large part due to the consistent information thrown at them on a daily basis in the form of print, television, and web ads. Having twisted such a large group of individuals into believing a false reality is dangerous as these negative expectations have begun to trickle down several generations, proving to become an unforgiving culture rooted in hate. Mothers develop poor sense of self, which may lead them to project their negative self-worth upon their daughters, feeding the chain of sadness, anger, and of defeat — in the sense of never being able to achieve a body, face, smile, hair colour that is not real, but merely created on a computer by a man who's paycheque is signed by beauty & fashion industry leaders.

note: it is important to keep in mind that the photograph editors & photoshop specialists are not to be blamed in this situation, as they are given directions and guidelines to follow. In fact, most have very little opinion on the situation and do not emotionally associate themselves with the work produced.

The fashion & beauty industry can only feed the masses what the masses want: beautiful, thin, acne-free individuals with sculpted bodies. The reality of the situation is that we, as consumers, have to voice our opinions about what real beauty is and what real women and men look like. By accepting the standard lies fed to us, we perpetuate the illusionary reality and social expectations that is sadly becoming engrained in Western society. At the end of the day, we financially support the fashion & beauty industry, therefore we control it. It is important to open our minds to advertisements that feature real women and men, with real flaws, as well as open our minds to the truth behind the narrow false reality the fashion & beauty industry creates. If we want them to change, we have to do so first.

Entry #1: Mic Mac Mall Back To School Campaign

Recently, a mall in Nova Scotia, The Mic Mac Mall, has come under fire for their blatantly sexist and degrading back-to-school ad campaign. These, pictured above, feature women who promote shopping over getting an education, thus implying women are people who are most suitable to be seen, and not education (or heard!).

The agency that created the campaign, Suburbia Advertising, claims to, get shoppers which is this company's attempt at promoting itself with a double entendre. Their out-of-the-box, apparently innovative, creative techniques help them understand Canadian shoppers best, thus attracting a greater customer base for the brands they work with. This being said, the testimonials found on their website do little to justify what & just how well this advertising company brings in so many new shoppers. The fluffy, non-specific feedback paired with the absolute failure of a back-to-school campaign at The Mic Mac Mall would leave most to believe that Suburbia Advertising in fact, does not understand shoppers, especially those found in Nova Scotia. They single-handedly managed to greatly offend the entire population of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia with sexist, pre-suffragette inspired messages.

Despite a lack of ethical and moral judgement, the management at The Mic Mac Mall decided to give this ad campaign its seal of approval. As any self-respecting woman, I would not have approved of this campaign. It enables men to revert to a state of social consciousness where women are perceived as unintelligent, uneducated, and worst of all, uneducate-ABLE. The public outcry against this campaign running demonstrates a higher social consciousness held by both men and women in the city of Dartmouth, which is personally, quite satisfying and reassuring for the state of social equality in Canada. This being said, Suburbia Advertising did an outrageously poor job of getting customers and it most certainly did not properly nor accurately reflect the personality, priorities, and needs of its target market.

Considering the interviews and testimonials I researched in response to this campaign, it isn't wild to believe this campaign wasn't problematic only due to its sexist message. Disregarding the sexist tone of the campaign, these ads degrade the importance of proper education. It could just have easily been as offensive had both men and women been featured in the campaign as these would have targeted a larger audience being both young men and women, encouraging them to perhaps ditch school to hit the mall. 

Despite this back-to-school campaign being so offensive, I doubt The Mic Mac Mall lost much of its customer base as, in reality, people go to malls to shop at difference stores, with completely independent campaigns, who maintain completely different ethical and moral guidelines. I don't doubt there were several companies who rent store locations in The Mic Mac Mall who also felt deeply offended by the mall's back-to-school ads.

I can understand why Suburbia Advertising would have used a more cartoony & graphic approach to this campaign, as they were obviously aiming to resonate something within a younger audience. Young girls who idolize their mom as well as other fashion icons could more easily relate to the messages of the campaign through this style of art. That being said, this only made the severity of the situation more imminent. The use of graphics and cartoons as well as hand-written fonts made the message more clearly understood to a younger audience, thus posing a greater threat — the hurtful message could have more obviously and readily been understood and acted upon by this impressionable young audience.

I do believe The Mic Mac Mall needed to deliver an apology, however I feel somewhat at an unease with their $5000 donation. I understand how this money could be beneficial to the city of Dartmouth as this money went towards supporting young girls who don't have direct access to the education they need. I can appreciate this aspect of the mall's attempt at redemption, however I can't help but raise the problem I have. It almost feels as though The Mic Mac Mall is attempting to buy forgiveness from the public. Perhaps encouraging staff members to volunteer with underprivileged youth would have been a more suitable, ethically clean solution.

Overall, disregarding the ads with the problematic & offensive messages, The Mic Mac Mall's promotional campaign featuring the same graphic & cartoony women is not offensive. The women featured are thin and tall, however they are obviously not real. There is a fine line between poisoning young women's ideals of what they should strive to look like, and just creating cartoons in a particular artists' style. I feel this type of art reflects simply an illustrator's personal art style and should not be interpreted as anything else. The problem with the back-to-school campaign lied truly with the messages written on the ads, not with the graphics.