This is an advert photographed by the scandalous photographer Oliviero Toscani (more on him later), for the fashion brand Nolita, and was shown in all Italian cities and world media. There is nothing shy about the image, with the fact that the model is shown fully naked only adding to the controversy and impact of the ad. A (semi) clothed model just wouldn't have the same effect (obviously).
However, my problem with this ad is its target market - who is the ad aimed at? Anorexic people, people who are potential anorexic, or non anorexic people? The reason I question this is because surely anorexic people don't mind what their bodies look like - they only care about being as skinny as possible, and therefore this arguably renders this ad ineffective (if that is the target market...). Most potential anorexics would look to the poster and start comparing the unfortunate model to them - she would them become a 'body' target, someone they aspired to, rendering this ad ineffective. It would therefore seem that this is aimed at those who aren't anorexic...
1 comment:
Perhaps Nolita want to convey that they as a brand do not embrace the thin models that other fashion designers do in their advertising. Therefore they have used an extreme example of anorexia to blame other brands for promoting such an unrealistic portrayal of women. It is also a shock tactic in showing the dangers of women trying to become thinner than their natural size. There could be many ideas drawn from this advertisement, but they will mostly be controversial seeing as Toscani is involved!
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