I had to post about this bus stop ad not only because I work in the advertising industry but also because I’m Dutch. Oh, those wacky Dutch. The premise of this ad is a bus stop that, when you sit down, projects your weight onto an advertisement for a gym. Shakesville has a picture, and […]

Filed under: Advertising, Fatism, International, Personal, Question | 24 Comments »

You all know my weakness for celebrity gossip and blind items, right? Well here’s one that caught my eye today. Which tabloid-favorite actress is purposefully packing on the pudge so she can launch her own weight loss line? She’s hoping to lose the first 20 pounds quickly, and cash in by following the “miracle” in […]

Filed under: Advertising, BFD Classic, Celebrities, Cold Hard Cash, Gossip, Jessica Simpson, Kirstie Alley | 16 Comments »

Originally uploaded by mo pie Very recently, I posted about an old-timey ad from the 1970s; here is another one, this time from 1957! Here is the ad copy: If your favorite little girl is on the plump side, dress her in Chubbettes and see her blossom into a lovely lass—as happy and self-assured as […]

Filed under: Advertising, Fashion, Kids, Magazines, Old Timey | 23 Comments »

I have not seen the commercial that Corinna rants about in this entry, but just reading about it made me want to start throwing things at the television, and I’m not even near a television. First, the rant (bolding mine): Last night I saw that Realize-Band ad again. The one where an attractive but fat […]

Filed under: Advertising, Advocacy, Fat Positive, Fatism, Weight Loss, WLS | 32 Comments »

Originally uploaded by mo pie I got an e-mail recently from a plus-size sex worker who keeps a blog called For Lovers of Curves. I’m going to put most of this post behind a cut; although I don’t think it’s super NSFW, you never know! Anyway, her bio is:

Filed under: Advertising, Fat Positive, Fatism, Feminism, NSFW, Personal, Sex & Romance, Work | 8 Comments »

Originally uploaded by mo pie I saw this vintage ad here and was quite struck by it. The ad is from the 1970s, and the headline reads: Tracy Harper may not care if fashionable chubby-sizes are hard to find, but her Mother does. And so does Sears. This headline was the thing that really struck […]

Filed under: Advertising, Fashion, Kids, Magazines, Old Timey, Race & Ethnicity | 32 Comments »

It’s Fashion Week, which means we get things like this amazing collection by Christian Siriano and another look at the size zero model phenomenon. Apparently, they’re back in style this season. (So much for Whitney’s victory on America’s Next Top Model.) Spurred on by a spike in reality TV shows promoting extreme dieting, women are […]

Filed under: Advertising, Advocacy, Eating Disorders, Fashion, Kids, Project Runway, TV | 19 Comments »

Generation XXLOriginally uploaded by crayolarabbit I used to see this ad in San Francisco, when driving onto the onramp of the Bay Bridge. It’s an ad for Kaiser Permanente, which is the same HMO that does the “thrive” commercials. My main issue is that this ad portrays a young girl (of course it’s a girl) […]

Filed under: Advertising, Advocacy, Fatism, Health, Kids, Media, Tidbit | 18 Comments »

Interesting post at TMZ of all places, about Queen Latifah’s endorsement of the Jenny Craig diet (which, if you recall I had issues with). You can follow that link to see some before and after shots of Queen Latifah, but this is the entirety of the post: We’re hearing there’s a new strategy in Jenny […]

Filed under: Advertising, Celebrities, Cold Hard Cash, Gossip, Kirstie Alley, Magazines, Media, Queen Latifah, Weight Loss | 36 Comments »

Originally uploaded by mo pie I have been reading Elastic Waist daily since it launched; especially since my friends (including BFD contributor Weetabix) write for the site. I have been on their “daily special” show and have even written a guest post or two for them. However, the fact remains that it is a corporate-sponsored […]

Filed under: Advertising, Cold Hard Cash, Fatism, Feminism, Magazines, Media, Meta | 19 Comments »

Quiconque e-mailed me to alert me to a Subway commercial, which she blogged about, that implies that people who eat fast food get automatically fat and that, among other things, this means they smell bad. I know, I almost can’t believe it either. (As soon as I or anyone else finds the video, I’ll add […]

Filed under: Advertising, Fatism, Feel Good Friday, Feminism, Food, TV, Video | 56 Comments »

Kristin e-mailed to alert us about a new ad campaign for NutriSystem, which directs to the URL nutrisystem.com/ pretty. This takes you to the main NutriSystem page, reinforcing the ad’s message that NutriSystem will make you “pretty,” i.e., thin. Kristin e-mailed NutriSystem to protest: I saw your commercial that advertised your web address as nutrisystem.com/pretty. […]

Filed under: Advertising, Cold Hard Cash, Media, Tidbit, Weight Loss | 28 Comments »

mermaid logo Originally uploaded by mo pie If you’re a regular Starbucks-goer, you may have noticed the switch to retro brown cups, with a return to the old Starbucks logo. (For reference, here is the more familiar green logo.) As with every development at the ‘Bucks, I checked in on Starbucks Gossip to see what […]

Filed under: Advertising, Art, Old Timey | 40 Comments »

The first thing Esteban said when watching the new Alltel commercial was “The chubby guy is missing!” I almost never pay attention to commercials (unless they contain A)badgers B) childish references to flatulence or C) songs that I love), but he was right. The chubby guy was missing and in his place, a new svelte […]

Filed under: Advertising, Fat Positive, Feel Good Friday, Media, Video | 11 Comments »

big fat ad Originally uploaded by mo pie I saw this poster in San Francisco over the weekend, put up by some public health initiative, I believe. Of course I thought of you, and snapped this picture! The first dotted line says “STARTED GOING FOR WALKS DURING LUNCH HOUR.” The second line says “STOPS ORDERING […]

Filed under: Advertising, Fatism, Feminism, Health, Media, Weight Loss | 91 Comments »

At the gym yesterday, I saw that the Queen Latifah commercial for Jenny Craig is out—so I figured I should follow up on my original post about the issue. There was no sound, though, so I couldn’t hear it. So I just did a quick search and came up with an interview that is mostly […]

Filed under: Advertising, Celebrities, Cold Hard Cash, Exercise, Health, Queen Latifah, Video, Weight Loss | 20 Comments »

This show premieres tonight, and I am told it’s a British show coming to America. Based on the comments (by the way, [sic]), it seems like a very body positive show. I have always admire Carson sense of humor and love for life. Imagine my surprise that he is doing what he did for the […]

Filed under: Advertising, Fashion, Fat Positive, Feel Good Friday, Question, TV | 29 Comments »

If there’s one universal problem plaguing women today, it’s that we all feel terribly guilty about one thing. That thing, of course, is our lip gloss. Can I get an amen? In a list of hypothetical resolutions posted at Sephora, one is (big surprise) “I Will Lose Weight.” The tie-in product to this resolution is, […]

Filed under: Advertising, Fashion, Feminism, Humor, Science, Weight Loss | 19 Comments »

I’ve heard nonfat espresso drinks called “skinny” and “trim” at other chains, and I guess Starbucks is jumping on the bandwagon. Their new lingo—the word “skinny”— saves you from having to say “nonfat sugar free.” So if I wanted a nonfat sugar free gingerbread latte (which, yum) I could just call it a skinny gingerbread […]

Filed under: Advertising, Food, Personal | 32 Comments »

This weekend, a car full of us drove to Los Angeles and back. On the return trip, we stopped at In-N-Out Burger, which sparked a conversation about fast food chains. We agreed that while the ubiquitous McDonald’s is not that tempting, In-N-Out is another story. We were happy the only one in town is at […]

Filed under: Advertising, Food, Health, International, Personal, Question | 58 Comments »

When I got to work this morning, I had alerts in my mailbox from Shawn and Erin, who wanted to make sure I found out that… I can barely bring myself to type it… Queen Latifah is going to start shilling for Jenny Craig in the new year. “We are thrilled to have Queen Latifah […]

Filed under: Advertising, Celebrities, Fashion, Food, Movies, Queen Latifah, Weight Loss | 55 Comments »

Reader Chelsea alerts us to this horrifying commerical from the “anti-gym” guy we talked about before. Remember him? The impotent one? I know, I know. “We’re just giving him more attention!” But it’s not like anyone who reads this site will be dumb enough to join his gym, right? Feministing describes the commercial in detail: […]

Filed under: Advertising, Exercise, Fatism, Feminism, Video | 27 Comments »

Okay, we know you guys think so. (And you think she’s both evil and fat.) And according to friend of the blog Ken Wheaton, Anthony Bourdain called her evil publicly. Why? Because of her Dunkin’ Donuts endorsement: Bourdain told Outside magazine, “I’m not a very ethical guy. I don’t have a lot of principles. But […]

Filed under: Advertising, Food, Question, Tidbit, TV | 37 Comments »

jennifer hudson ad Originally uploaded by mo pie I saw this ad in this week’s Entertainment Weekly; it’s the first Jennifer Hudson for Avon ad that I’ve seen so far. And I was quite struck by the “sex sells” marketing. Not only is it an obviously sexy shot of J. Hud, the perfume is named […]

Filed under: Advertising, American Idol, Britney Spears, Celebrities, Feel Good Friday, Jennifer Hudson, Kate Winslet, Magazines, Tidbit | 6 Comments »

Even though Subway is associated with The Biggest Loser and that guy with the fat pants, their food does not always have fewer calories. When asked how many calories their meal contained, Subway eaters (vs. McDonalds eaters) consistently underestimated. This article is about that psychology. 46 college students were given coupons for either a McDonald’s […]

Filed under: Advertising, Food, Tidbit, TV | 8 Comments »