Questions to Consider:
- What is the first thing you see in these ads?
- What are the ads selling?
- Where is the text positioned?
- How does the advertiser want you to feel?
What We Think:
For starters, the name "Natrelle" sounds awfully
close to the word "natural." Though we all know that breast
augmentations are not natural to any degree, this ad is trying to give
us the impression that this specific type of cosmetic surgery will have
your new breasts appear natural. The first line of text is placed
directly in front of the woman's breast, drawing your eyes in that direction. The woman also appears confident
and proud, so the ad is also trying to tell you that you will also feel
that way once you have new breasts. And one variation on this ad reads,
"You know that feeling when you find the perfect figure," telling us
that we will overall feel a lot better about ourselves once we have
larger breasts and that a woman with large breasts is closer to having
"the perfect figure," when there is absolutely no such thing. These
Natrelle ads, like a lot of the portrayals of cosmetic surgery in media,
make breast augmentation seem like such a breeze. They associate the
surgery with things that are easier to get, when breast surgery is
actually a huge deal and there are major risks involved.
-- Holly Crimmins (About-Face intern) and Jennifer Berger
Allergan, Inc.
P.O. Box 19534
Irvine, CA 92623
Phone: (714) 246-4500 (ask for Rena)
Elle Magazine
1633 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
Phone: (212) 767-5800
E-mail: Click here if you have something to say to Elle.
Allure Magazine
4 Times Square, Suite 10
New York, NY 10036
Phone: (212) 286-2860
E-mail: Click here if you have something to say to Allure.
Learn how to write a great complaint letter here.
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