Controversy Ensues with Ralph Lauren Polo
The role of the media and fashion designers on positive body image messages has hit a high this week.
More specifically, a group of protesters are actually encouraging a boycott of the Ralph Lauren Polo brand in three major cities: San Francisco, Chicago and New York that’ll take place this month.
“The relentless marketing of so-called ‘beauty’ in the Ralph Lauren ads is alienating to all who don’t meet those artificial standards of ‘ideal,’” says Lorraine Cole, PhD, CEO of YWCA of America. “It is time that we ignite a cultural change in this country to end the pursuit of the elusive beauty myth, starting with a boycott of those companies that disregard the self-esteem, health and human worth of the women and girls whose dollars they seek.”
Spearheaded by the documentary filmmaker, Darryl Roberts, this movement has created collaboration with the YWCA of America, IAEDP (International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals) and ANAD (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Eating Disorders).
Launched first with a Facebook fan page that gained quick momentum with about 3800 supporters in the first 36 hours, combined with the in-person boycott in Downtown Chicago just yesterday, it seems this cause to ‘improve media and advertising images sent to young women and girls’ is becoming quite serious.
You might be asking, why Ralph Lauren Polo? Well, the focus on this brand, per se, stems from an ad back in October with the beautiful Filippa Hamilton. A photo of her was part of a marketing campaign that got many compliments due to her very thin appearance, where Ralph Lauren actually admitted to photo-shopping her to make her look even thinner. After that incident, Polo Ralph Lauren did issue a statement of apology. However, weeks later even skinnier ads of the model were featured in additional ads from the same shoot.
“Ralph Lauren apologized for the first image of Filippa Hamilton that was photoshopped,” Roberts says, “but later he was caught with a second image and a third image. If he was truly sorry, why didn’t he pull the additional ads when he apologized for the first one? So it seems that his company has an apologize-as-we-get-caught philosophy. The reason that we’re boycotting is that we want him to commit to never putting out another ad that’s egregious and offensive to young women and girls again.”
So with this lack of follow through on the part of Ralph Lauren, a group of citizens has decided to take action into their own hands with a physical and viral marketing campaign against the brand. LUXies, we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Do you believe it’s the responsibility of the designer within the fashion industry to ensure positive body images for young girls? Do you believe that the Ralph Lauren Polo brand is responsible here? What do you think of this boycott and message of wanting a shift in our media portrayals of beauty?
Tagged in: anad, body images, darryl roberts, boycott, ralph lauren polo, ieadp, ywca of america,
