Why is it that so many of my friends online have avatars that either partially obscure their face or show them as, say, a toddler, a cartoon character or a kitten? In the blogging world I accept that it might be in order to maintain anonymity but over at one of my other regular haunts of Flickr, the same is true. In fact, just occasionally a fellow Flickr-ite will ‘bravely’ post a self-portrait and invite others to do the same. I used the word ‘bravely’ because that is invariably part of the reaction - that it was a brave move, that it’s lovely to finally ‘meet’ someone but no, sorry, we really don’t have the courage to do the same.
Have you noticed how women, in particular, seem more sensitive about hiding from cameras? Think about it – how many of your male online friends are happy to show their face, as opposed to your female friends? You probably know where I’m going with this don’t you? Yes, yadda yadda yadda…the blame must surely lie at least in part with advertising and media. However, here is the reason why I’m mentioning it again today:
The Curious Case of Twiggy and Olay
You may already know that here in the UK the advertising watchdog banned an advert, at the end of last year, which depicted a very youthful looking Twiggy ‘because younger looking eyes never go out of fashion’ (nor does heavy air-brushing apparently). To be fair to Olay, there were just two complaints specifically about the ad but they were backed up by 700 complaints about the use of air-brushing in general from an anti air-brushing campaign. It was enough for action to be taken. Olay’s reaction by the way was that there was some ‘minor retouching’ around Twiggy’s eyes. Yeah, right.
The reality is that Twiggy seems like a nice lady, dresses well, has a phenomenal figure, but she’s heading on for 61 this September and unless she has made a pact with the devil she cannot possibly look as ‘pristine’ as she does in this ad …can she? Well of course not!
I’m not a huge purchaser of glossy mags but I recently brought home a copy of ‘Woman and Home’. The cover features an air-brushed Jerry Hall – another beautiful lady but at 52 she can’t possibly look quite that good either, can she? (Well, not according to this article in the Mail Online). In fact, it struck me that although this magazine is probably aimed at women of around my age (I’m no Spring Chicken myself) that there was barely a wrinkle in sight … until I came to the new Twiggy / Olay advert and it quite literally stopped me in my tracks.
There amongst all the air-brushed, primped and preened faces was a much more honest rendition of Twiggy. I personally think that it is still air-brushed but at least it’s much closer to what you’d expect from a 60-year-old face. Olay may have been somewhat backed into a corner on this but it is nonetheless a brave move. In the same magazine other skincare products are being promoted in their usual air-brushed way, so Twiggy’s face does rather stand out. Some might say that’s a good thing – I’m paying attention to the product – but it begs the question with me: If she has those wrinkles, how much better is she than any other 60-year-old? In what way will using that particular product help?
It strikes me that honesty doesn’t sell products … but if we don’t promote honesty then we’re right back to the dilemma of giving women impossible images to try to live up to, and when we fail, feeling ashamed to show our own lovely, but maybe ever so slightly less than perfect faces to the world. So what’s the answer? Brutal honesty in ads? Or continue with the air-brushing? And if it’s the latter, how do we decide where to draw the line between selling a product and just plain lying?
Art:Rene Gruau
Art:Rene Gruau
I think most of the people knew that advertising add are done in a lot of tweaking. But then so many don’t see that point. So it’s our consumers responsibility to decide what we gonna spend our money to. Because beauty product companies will continue to do their thing for their products to sell. Happy Monday!
MM-After the rain
I think you reach a certain age and you realise that the photos you see are tweaked. The effect on young girls – where that notion hasn’t quite sunk in – is the most damaging. However perfect images do give a repeated, subliminal message to us all, regardless opf age, *that* is what we should look like. The one instance of Twiggy and Olay above shows that people are starting to demand honest advertising. I’m just not entirely sure that honest advertising will work!
And does Olay explain that discrepancy or would that be too much of an admission of guilt on airbrushing the first pic?Wouldn’t it be lovely to be able to airbrush ourselves each day?!
Well they admit to ‘minor retouching’. I’d say it’s major …but then you’d have to define ‘minor’ and ‘major’. It’s legalese nonsense.
Yes I would love the airbrush treatment each day – specially if it could shave off the pounds too!
Oh, where to start on this one. I remember when I found out that Playboy magazine printed with 5 colors instead of 4…to enhance skin tones. No wonder few living, breathing women live up to male expectations or preferences. It always irritates me to see young, fresh-faced models (or one that has probably had some “help”) advertise wrinkle cream. As one who works in advertising, it saddens me when the message is more lie and spin than an honest representation of the benefits of the product.
I believe as women age, they do tend to shy away from the camera for this very reason. Society rarely views the aging woman with her laugh lines, crows feet and not-so-tight skin as beautiful. Plastic surgery is a booming business. Maybe there comes a point in a woman’s life where she just doesn’t give a rip what others think. For some, it probably never comes.
With the onset of social media and the expectation of transparency in businesses, we may see a day when overt “glossing” over is not accepted anymore. The upcoming Gen Yers have little tolerance for superficiality. And we may see that spill into how products are advertised in the future. I hope so.
Twiggy at 60 still looks about 40. Good genes?
Oh, *young* faces advertising wrinkle creams irritates me. Who are they trying to kid?
I think the backlash against airbrushing has already begun but it’s actually going to take a while to get used to seeing faces much closer to reality. There was a survey some time ago that asked young women if they wanted to see ‘real size’ models in magazines … and the answer was a fairly resounding ‘no’. ?! We seem so used to seeing impossible perfection that now, apparently, we don’t really want reality!
I think the truth about face creams and ageing is that how we age is probably mostly down to our genetic make-up. That doesn’t stop me from slathering on the stuff … just in case.
I love the “honest” Twiggy portrait. She looks beautiful and real. I wish more ads would take a step in this direction.
Yes she does look beautiful and real, but she does have obvious wrinkles and as she’s promoting an anti-wrinkle cream I can’t help wondering how much good the Olay has done her. Would that ad tempt me to buy Olay to stave of wrinkles? I really admire her for opting to go with this more natural look and it’d be nice to think that she is the first of many to do so.
Your last paragraph nails it. It makes me sad that we cannot be honest, which I think is a lot of what is wrong with today’s society.
Absolutely – we’re continually striving for impossible ideals and it’s a recipe for unhappiness. How many top models and superstars will be willing to follow Twiggy’s example I wonder? As long as we have those airbrushed versions sitting alongside the ‘real’ ones I suspect many of us will be swayed to buy the products promoted by the ‘perfect’ image. So how long will advertisers like Olay continue with more honest advertising?
Personally, I would prefer erring toward the side of honesty. I like glam, but I don’t like perfection.
Me too, but where is line drawn between just enough air-brushing to sell a product and too much?
Oh so true, but I rebel against media induced conformities.
That’s why I can do a YouTube video without make-up and be a size 12.
I will fart in their general direction!
You have an inner happines now that allows you to accept yourself absolutely as you are. It’s something that I greatly admire about you and inspires me not to be so hard on myself.
Maybe you should consider a series of self-help videos!
Oh my…I’m not the one for that endeavor. I am blushing through my itching sunburned skin. LOL!
I loved the Dove ads that were out for a while. They showed women of all ages and they didn’t try to “pretty” everyone up. It was a great message telling women to accept themselves as they are.
They were great weren’t they? Such a refreshing approach. Over here they still promote lotions for older skin in a similar way and as there doesn’t seem to be any similar, easily available product, I imagine they will continue to do so. In any case, I think it was a clever move on their part. As a front runner in this type of advert their brand is now associated with honesty, giving the message that ‘you can trust Dove’..
Hats off to Olay! Even if it was under pressure. We all get older, and as we get older, we wrinkle, we sag, we don’t look like we did at 20, 30, 40, or whatever that ideal age is at any given time. I appreciate the advertising world acknowledging that – hey, I know I’ve got wrinkles and sags, and I know you can’t make them go away. But if you can just minimize them the tiniest bit – every little bit helps! But don’t lie to me, don’t lead me astray. Don’t tell me Twiggy uses this product and looks 30, but when I use it I still look 60. Nothing wrong with getting older and acknowledging it. There are advantages to aging – I get senior discounts now. Do you?
It would be nice if the tide is starting to turn because the modern fixation on plastic surgery, collagen and botox indicates that many are absolutely terrified of showing any signs of age – and yet in other societies age denotes wisdom. Maybe in being wrapped over the knuckles for that first bit of ridiculous air-brushing, Olay have now seen the light and, like Dove, will become trend leaders.
Bah! Don’t get me started on wrinkle creams. I think staying out of the sun and not smoking are the best ways to maintain a youthful complexion.
I think you’re probably right Kala. I use a moisturiser as an insurance policy and because my skin has become dryer as I’ve aged. However I actually suspect that how good we look at any age has more to do with genetics, and, as you say, the basics – like being careful in the sun etc.