Dove soap has started a self esteem building campaign aimed at women who feel alienated by the traditionally celebrated idea of beauty.
They call it the Campaign for Real Beauty. They have billboards, and posters all over celebrating over weight women to sell firming cream. Granted, the girls in the ads are not obese, but make no mistake about it, the obese are the people these ads are for. There is even one ad that says %50 FAT %50 FAB So in the eyes of the Dove company, real beauty can be fat, but it can't include loose skin.
According to the Center for Disease Control, being overweight increases your risk to the following health problems:
- Hypertension
- Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)
- Type 2 diabetes
- Coronary heart disease
- Stroke
- Gallbladder disease
- Osteoarthritis
- Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
- Some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)
I can't find a single health risk associated with loose skin, except maybe getting it caught in a zipper.
Why would Dove be so irresponsable as to promote a potential health risk? Because they have done their research. Aprox 60 million Americans are overweight. That is a large market segment the rest of the cosmetic companies have alienated for years.
All Dove needs to do is make those people respect you for making you feel good about yourself, the way I respected my hockey coach when he made me feel good by giving me the most sportsmanlike award. That award always goes to the worst player, so they have something to feel good about after a season of no goals and no friends. If Dove can do that, they can sell more firming cream and hair gel, which by the way are just BEAUTY products.
They are telling you not to feel bad about being overweight (which is a health risk and in my country, a huge cost to the socialized medical system) but you should feel bad because your skin is loose and your hair is shapeless. Here is another reason they do it. They don't sell weight loss products.
This to me is like a billboard of ugly, overweight, cigar smoking men being used to sell Rogaine. If you just had hair, you would be sexy again. All that matters is hair.