While at the cinema last week, I nearly choked on my crisps when I saw this new ad for Reebok’s Easytone trainers. Sure, I get that the point of these trainers is to tone up legs, bums and all those other ‘trouble zones’ we’re supposed to give a rat’s arse about, so it’s understandable that the camera is going to focus on those areas.
But why does it have to feature headless women? This ad is nothing but a sea of lithe limbs – be they bare, stockinged or otherwise – doing a variety of fun-yet-sexy movements. Notwithstanding the fact that not one of the models has legs resembling anything like a typical pair of pins belonging to an average woman (no cellulite, no thread veins, no stretch marks, nothing but glowing flesh), I don’t for a minute believe that shaking and vac’ing my way around my apartment while wearing them will turn me into a sylph-like goddess.
Even with all of that aside, it is the headless woman aspect that creeps me out the most. It’s the ultimate in reducing women to their parts, in this instance turning athletes, nightclubbers and office workers into bouncing buttocks, taut calves and slinky ankles. There’s no need to even show these women’s faces (if these are indeed women rather than a woman – they are all light-skinned and all look eerily similar) when you can see their lower halves, and fixate on their arses rather than having to – god forbid – hear what they actually have to say about the product. The horror!
We have gotten off pretty lightly in Ireland however, as these are some American ads (‘make your boobs jealous!’):
We can all appreciate the aesthetic beauty of these impossibly sleek thighs, but we know the reality too. That very little of us look like that, which spoils the sexy illusion somewhat. I’d love if Reebok kept it real, if their ads featured women of all shapes and sizes, women just like us, who wear these shoes and then see their generous behinds and dimpled thighs reduced and smoothed. But perhaps both of these things are too much to ask for.
What do you think about these ads?
Hideous.
The Fit Flop ads in all the lady mags also feature headless women.
And look at the tasks being carried out:- hoovering, plant-watering (gender/housework stereotypes) and waitressing, photo-copying (because all the big, important jobs are being done by men, no doubt).
Is headless women a hint!?
Ha. Ridiculous ads. Are they on Irish tv? The thing that baffles me is who’s the target market for these ads? It seems like it *should* be women, but erm, isn’t.
jesus, the american headless woman needs a proper bra fitting, stat!
“I nearly choked on my crisps when I saw this new ad for Reebok’s Easytone trainers.
Those weren’t Hunky Dory crisps by any chance?
Zandali – ha! Don’t worry, I’ve sworn off those ever since Rugby-gate. > http://myadventuresinveg.blogspot.com/2010/04/tasteless-advertising-from-hunky-dorys.html
Sinead – So true. But I suppose our brains can’t handle worrying about the size of our bums *and* managing a company at the same time.
Reminds me of those drawn ads in the 50′s where glamorous woman in high heels struck various sensual poses while doing housework, lol.
Stuck into my Ben and Jerry’s tonight pre A Team (yes yes I know – I enjoyed it) and there was those impossible behinds looking me in the face with no heads. I do this thing in the cinema during ridiculous ads of talking very loudly. (Herself tells me to shush but I must!) It sort of started during ones for the Family and Life group or whatever it was – suggestions as to random acts of feminism that can be committed during reebock ads the next time are therefore very welcome.
Any tv ad shown in the cinema offends me, full stop. Whoever decided to flood cinemas with ads and a mere two film trailers needs a kick in the face.
The headless woman phenomenon is rife. Go into a book shop and look at the fiction section. It’s UNBELIEVABLE at the moment. I was going to blog here about it but it seems a bit redundant now.
It really pisses me off. I feel like we are regressing all the time when it comes to representations of women. Have teenage boys taken over advertising, design etc etc?
I was was quite shocked for all the above reasons. But also the fact that the arses in question were almost boy-like in their tinyness, is that really what’s sexy?
My ass is big, but it’s great, I love it, and flaunt it whenever I can, god forbid it would ever shrink to such an unimpressive size, thanks Reebok I have been forewarned. I will not be buying your runners and doing the house work in my skivies and trainers thank you very much!
[...] jaunt to Brown Thomas on the fact that there were no ladies in charge during our Celtic Tiger! And here some lady blames the fact that she is currently unhappy with the shape of her bottom on some evil [...]
I honestly thought some of those “ladies” in the first video were men, and that would be the twist at the end of the ad. With this posts title read out by the narrator “Nice ass, shame about the face.”
But yes anyway, I’m with Ruth on this: big is best!
Forgive me for spamming, but considering I randomly came across a selection of images today about Reebok’s UK advertising campaign for this product, I felt it might be worth including a link here to a post I made.
http://gammagoblin.blogspot.com/2010/08/is-this-how-things-are-advertised.html
Thanks Gamma for linking here, I’d never have spotted these ridiculous ads otherwise!
What I’d like to see is the research that backs up their “proven to blah blah blah” bit. Was the research peer reviewed?