Protein World: "Body Positivity" and a lesson on how not to motivate people

[Boris Goodenough]

It's easy to gain weight. It's much, much harder to lose weight...
And the worst thing you can do is radical dieting. Chances are you'll lose some weight initially, but pretty soon you'll get back more than you ever lost...

It is easier to gain weight than lose it but radical dieting? Hah, I myself have lost around 11 kg, I went from borderline chubby to borderline athletic. Through a change from not eating oven ready lasagne for almost every meal to a varied, proteing rich with greens and slow burning carbs, I still drink lots of beer and every now and then I still chomp down a whole 400-500 gram cake, go to the cinema and a eat a large popcorn with a 1 L non-diet soda here and there. Granted I don't take suppliments, so I am not their target market with their campaign.
I had by blood work done last year, it's all in the perfect range.

It's only radical because that is how your mind is made up about it.

 

[Queen Michael]

I'm so freakin' fed up wiht this. Why does so many health campaigns have to imply that fat people are ugly? Sure, being fat is unhealthy, but that's my point. They could focus on the health benefits, but instead they have to make it about looks.

If we all finally stopped with the attitude that slim people always look better than fat people, we wouldn't be "promoting bad health." You might as well say that right now, we're "promoting illiteracy" by not implying that illiterate people are ugly, or "promoting racism" by not implying that racists are ugly.

 

[silver wolf009]

I'm so freakin' fed up wiht this. Why does so many health campaigns have to imply that fat people are ugly? Sure, being fat is unhealthy, but that's my point. They could focus on the health benefits, but instead they have to make it about looks.

I see where you're coming from with that line of thinking, but I'm not sure it's necessarily fair. Now, yes, it might be easy to assume that because someone states being thin is attractive, that not being thin is not attractive, if P then Q so if -P then -Q, but that doesn't mean that Protein World ran advertisements claiming such. You might be reading between lines that aren't really there to be read between.

Further, the advertisement focused on looks because regardless of subject matter, advertisements have shown that focusing on good looking people tend to boost sales. The fact that this product's advertisement overlapped with things that involve questions of health and beauty doesn't change that fact.

 

[Rad Party God]

This whole ordeal reads like a bad film parody. I mean, it's just awful that such a company that sells "healthy stuff" is so smug to the very people they're selling their products at.

I can't help but to find this highly amusing, you know what they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall*.

[small]*The company... not the people... I'll just shut up.[/small]

 

[Queen Michael]

How many people are saying that being fat is necessarily ugly? It's more people are saying being thin/fit is more attractive by comparison. They never outright state it, it's as you say, an 'implication'. To use your example, it's more akin to saying not being racist is more acceptable than being racist or the same thing with illiteracy.

Okay, but that doesn't really change things. They're still bringing looks into a discussion that should be about health.

I see where you're coming from with that line of thinking, but I'm not sure it's necessarily fair. Now, yes, it might be easy to assume that because someone states being thin is attractive, that not being thin is not attractive, if P then Q so if -P then -Q, but that doesn't mean that Protein World ran advertisements claiming such. You might be reading between lines that aren't really there to be read between.

Come on, dude. They were saying "Are you beach body ready?" It's pretty clear that the message was "Are you slim enough to look good in a bikini?" I mean, what other interpretation is there?

Further, the advertisement focused on looks because regardless of subject matter, advertisements have shown that focusing on good looking people tend to boost sales. The fact that this product's advertisement overlapped with things that involve questions of health and beauty doesn't change that fact.

Sure, pics of good-looking people sell more products than pics of ugly people, and yes, many consumers feel that slim people look better than fat people. But that doesn't make it well-mannered to imply that if you're slim or not determines whether you're "beach body ready."

 

[Armistice]

While I don't support the company's response due its dismissive and aloof nature ruining what otherwise could have been a respectable stance; I think its possible that same response is part backlash itself. Obviously this is conjecture but I know a lot of people, including myself, tired of the outrage crowd swooping in and attacking things to drown them out in the name of tolerance with the only actual goal being censorship. This company was likely ready for this and has thrown down the gauntlet but, as everyone always does, gone too far.

 

[Queen Michael]

Okay, but that doesn't really change things. They're still bringing looks into a discussion that should be about health.

And? Advertising and society in general has always been somewhat superficial. Regardless of whether you like it or not, people tend to care about looks.

But society in general hasn't always insisted that fat people are less attractive than thin people. And I never said there's anything wrong with caring about looks. What I said was that ads shouldn't imply that fat people look worse than thin people.

 

[Smooth Operator]

When you want to be upset there is no shortage of sources...
They only advertised fitness, that is it, no part of it was offensive. But you went ahead and took it as an offence anyway.
And the responses were absolutely correct, your emotional issues are not their issues, trying to make them responsible for your unresolved shit is just about the most childish thing a person can resort to.

 

[silver wolf009]

I see where you're coming from with that line of thinking, but I'm not sure it's necessarily fair. Now, yes, it might be easy to assume that because someone states being thin is attractive, that not being thin is not attractive, if P then Q so if -P then -Q, but that doesn't mean that Protein World ran advertisements claiming such. You might be reading between lines that aren't really there to be read between.

Come on, dude. They were saying "Are you beach body ready?" It's pretty clear that the message was "Are you slim enough to look good in a bikini?" I mean, what other interpretation is there?

Further, the advertisement focused on looks because regardless of subject matter, advertisements have shown that focusing on good looking people tend to boost sales. The fact that this product's advertisement overlapped with things that involve questions of health and beauty doesn't change that fact.

Sure, pics of good-looking people sell more products than pics of ugly people, and yes, many consumers feel that slim people look better than fat people. But that doesn't make it well-mannered to imply that if you're slim or not determines whether you're "beach body ready."

The terminology may be loaded, but it's far from out of the ordinary. That's the societal dogma of the day, really, slim is in. Deciding to blame the company or the advertisements comes down to if you think the majority of social dogma is created by companies, and picked up by the people, or the other way around, and repeated by the company.

And even if you think that's a moral failing of the company, it's worth remembering that they don't care about fat people, or thin people, or dog people or cat people, by definition they care about moving product, and they chose an approach to make that happen. It's like asking a stove if it had a heart after it cooked a turkey. You'd raise eybrows and politely be asked to stop yelling at the stove.

 

[loa]

This ad makes "beach body" look like something you can get "ready" for in a short term.
Like it's some sort of suit you just have to buy from them, there you go now you're "fit for the summer" while in reality, it's a lifestyle, it's a long ass journey and you may never actually get to that unrealistic goal displayed in that ad.

Selling body types as a commodity rather than a health thing is kinda gross imo.
Also this expectation followed by the inevitable failure only serves to create anxiety which may lead to paralyzing cycles of self hatred which is a strange tactic if you want to win people over as long-term customers. This whole tactic of "pressure, pressure, pressure" is really counterproductive in many ways, more designed to celebrate beauty ideals than to motivate those who do not meet them.
A self-congratulatory wankfest.

I hate marketing.

 

[KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime]

When you want to be upset there is no shortage of sources...
They only advertised fitness, that is it, no part of it was offensive. But you went ahead and took it as an offence anyway.
And the responses were absolutely correct, your emotional issues are not their issues, trying to make them responsible for your unresolved shit is just about the most childish thing a person can resort to.

Someone took issue with what the ad implied with it's imagery and wording. That is not an excuse for a company that's supposed to be supporting health consciousness to sink down to the level of hurling childish insults. All it does is reenforce the image that super fit and health conscious people are douche bags who fit the "asshole jock" stereotype to a T. Also how is their response going to help sales? Their childish response designed to piss people off and make overweight people feel terrible about themselves, no less. One person responded poorly to the ad and this would all have blown over, had Protein World's representatives not been total dick heads about it.

 

[Queen Michael]

The terminology may be loaded, but it's far from out of the ordinary.

That other people reason that way too isn't an excuse. "Everybody else is doing it!" has never been a valid excuse.[/quote]

That's the societal dogma of the day, really, slim is in. Deciding to blame the company or the advertisements comes down to if you think the majority of social dogma is created by companies, and picked up by the people, or the other way around, and repeated by the company.

No, it's not about that. It's about if I think the company is responsible for going with this angle in their ads.

And even if you think that's a moral failing of the company, it's worth remembering that they don't care about fat people, or thin people, or dog people or cat people, by definition they care about moving product, and they chose an approach to make that happen. It's like asking a stove if it had a heart after it cooked a turkey. You'd raise eybrows and politely be asked to stop yelling at the stove.

...Except a stove si a dead thing with no free will, and a company isn't. You're implying that Protein World were forced to use these ads.

 

[LetalisK]

*sees reaction to ads*

Wait wait wait, you're saying people on the internet are going to get pissed off about this ad and make Protein World out to be these colossal douchebags that...

*sees reaction to reaction*

...right then. Guess even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

 

[Queen Michael]

But society in general hasn't always insisted that fat people are less attractive than thin people. And I never said there's anything wrong with caring about looks. What I said was that ads shouldn't imply that fat people look worse than thin people.

Societal norms change all the time, sure, but for the past couple centuries or so it's been fairly accepted by the majority of western society that thin/physical fitness tends to be more attractive than being overweight. Also, who cares if most people think one type of person looks better than another? Do you see people crying bloody murder when it's seen that someone like George Clooney is widely considered to be more attractive than someone like Danny Devito? We measure attractiveness all the time, I don't see why it's such a big deal when we do so in regards to weight.

I'd say that's because I've never seen anybody praising George Clooney in a way that clearly implied that Danny Devito was ugly. The problem isn't when people call somebody goodlooking. It's when they make a point of implying that people who look a certain way are ugly. And fat people are the one kind of people it's okay to call ugly as a whole.

 

[Popido]

The company isn't even 2 year old yet, so they don't give a fuck about feminists trying to shame them. Infact, this controversy boosted their sales, which is why they went on to twitter to keep it going.

Did you guys miss that they sell protein? Their fans are body worshipper, therefore, their adds worship fit bodies.

Y'all need to start lifting.

 

[loa]

Did you guys miss that they sell protein? Their fans are body worshipper, therefore, their adds worship fit bodies.

They sell the "weight loss collection", the company is called protein world.
I don't think protein is for losing weight.