3. The might of the media
• Ireland is a highly consumerist, commercial and media
saturated society
• The growth of media has been prolific.
• And its particularly visual
• Really embrace media
6. Advertising
Reflects
WANTS
Shapes NEEDS
Sets the
NORM
“Consumerism is the shame of marketing” Peter Drucker
• 400-600 ads per day
• #2 category global spend on advertising is cosmetics & toiletries
• #13 is fashion (and still rising)
• Top 3 companies as global spenders 2012 were P&G, Unilver and L’Oreal
7. What’s the effect?
• “does my bum look big in this?”
• Irish teens
– 43% aren’t happy with how they
look
– 4 in 10 feel conscious of their weight
– The influence of media &
celebrities can also lead to poor
self-esteem
– More than half said their body
image interfered with their
participation in activities like
swimming
• Selfies
• Unending….where will it end?
8. What’s the Problem?
• We’re giving consumers what they want
• It’s all about choice
• Celebs aren’t real people – consumers
know that
• Advertising is about aspirations not
reality
• It’s business
9.
10.
11.
12.
13. A disclaimer in small
print on the bottom of
the ad states the image
is an “illustrated effect”
The company admitted
that they used digital re-
imaging to “lighten the
skin, clean up make-up,
reduce dark shadows
and shading around the
eyes, smooth the lips
and darken the
eyebrows”
I’m a marketing consultant. I’ve worked in the media & advertising industry in UK and here for over 20 years. Work in PR. Do some journalism and research. Produce radio documentaries. I wrote an e-book
But whatever work hat I’m wearing. I am first and foremost and always a Mum. “MUMMY”
So whatever knowledge information or `viewpoint I have it is undeniably influenced by the fact that I am a parent.
So I guess it follows that there are 2 areas I want to cover off regarding this touchy subject. One being the media and the other being a key area that we must not lose sight of in this discussion
Modern day parenting is a fraught affair really. We can’t use our own childhood as a benchmark because it’s so different from today’s childhood. (Douglas Adams) So we’re left feeling unsure of ourselves
Everyday there’s headlines that scare the hell out of us – about mental issues, about health, about bullying, about technology, about grooming, paedophiles, eating disorders, suicides….
All parents want is for their kids to be happy and healthy….
I’m a Mum of 4 girls…. And I can tell you with all honesty it’s hard and its frightening
What do you do when you notice your teen daughter’s lunchbox is coming home still full? If it’s your 7 year old you get cross, you have words, you tell her to stop yapping at breaktime and to eat the fruit you’ve given her. It’s about her getting 5 a day. But when it’s the teen you have to approach it differently. You think why is she doing this, has she been doing this for long, is she trying to cut back on food, have I missed something….
What do you do when your beautiful teen is paranoid about their hormonal spots and covers it with too-orange make up?
And you ask yourself why?
Unease in our own skin is not the sole preserve of our kids
Parents get paranoid and parents panic …. But we also need to look at ourselves
Well lets turn to the media.
Now Im not saying its all the media’s fault…. but
We do live in a highly consumerist, commercial and media saturated society. And I don’t see this changing anytime soon.
The growth of media has been prolific. And its evolution has touched every aspect of our lives.
And its particularly visual
We spend 3hrs 35m per day on TV
Half the population has a FB profile… 60/58% of 9-16yr olds have a FB profile
80% are regular newspaper readers
Mags from the UK
Mobile phone ownership is 100+%
The media’s power is that it is such an integral part of our lives that it informs us and shapes our opinions…. Esp the younger audiences
The thing is media’s omnipresence has given it an undeniable power
it is such an integral part of our lives that it informs us and shapes our opinions…. Esp the younger audiences
This how the media works
The media’s power is that it is such an integral part of our lives that it informs us and shapes our opinions…. Esp the younger audiences
There’s a problem with that norm. It’s not real.
Is this really the norm? This week we’ve had a lot of on air debate about Debenhams using size 16 models because in the last 10 years the average size has gone from 12 to 16 (UK)
Obviously the media growth has facilitated the growth in another industry…. marketing and advertising
These are the type of images we’re consuming…. These aren;’t unique these are the typical style used to sell certain products ie cosmetics, fashion, and lifestyle
Reenforcing all the other images in the media
Nielsen
And whats the effect of the relentless exposure to all of these images:
Adults
2,156 teens from Comhairle na nOg:
Time and time again in research with teens poor self image and low self esteem comes up
Selfies: trying to emulate images of ourselves on FB that we see in the media
Now one thing I said I would do is play devils advocate:
In this room we have interested parties who can clearly see what the problem is. But something I’ve learnt over the years of raising issues around the commercialisation and sex ualisation of children is this:
To address areas where industry is concerned the carrot works better than the stick.
Bailey Review
The reason is this: business will ignore what they will see as the ‘soft’ facts (evidence based) if the hard facts ie market share and sales are advantageous to them…
The ‘lines’ you’ll hear will be…..
So we need to give them alternative reasons that matter to them
Actually consumers globally are saying they want to deal with what they deem to be responsible brand and most importantly YES they will spend more with these companies
Consumers want to make informed choices that make them feel good about themselves. Giving consumers the real information about products and the media
Effective advertising is about attainable aspirations that’s what induces an attiidudinal shift and behavioural (ie purchase) change
The business industry is beginning to either take notice or feel the brunt of this new ‘wave’ of concious
Rimmel ad banned by ASA in UK as the ad didn’t state the lashes were created with flasies
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1332602/Georgia-May-Jagger-gets-lashed-Rimmel-mascara-commercial-banned-false-advertising.html
Its not just the media and advertisers who are cuplable of misrepresentation:
The retailers also need to be questioned.
I’ve spoken on radio programmes about H&M’s use of mannequins online to advertise swimwear because they couldn’t get the perfect body in the real human form!
Previous slides showed Topshop and Miss Selfridges mannequins who are all size 10
Obviously Debenhams has hit the news this week.
Debenhams:
No abrushing on swimwear
June 2013: Announce on lingerie models
Debenhams said its designers would no longer use techniques such as arm slimming, thinning legs, whitening the eyes and teeth or "enhancing" the cleavage
Now uses curvier size 16 mannequins in-store
(44yr old AUDIENCE)
And the Boots No 7 campaign is worth a mention.
So its not all bad news.
But the 6 million dollar question is:
COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY
Issues around childhood are societal issues
Issues around the media are societal issues
Issues around advertising and marketing are societal issues
Debate
engage
We need to tip the scale
Media as well as reflecting society can be an instrument of change …. That’s why its important to discuss and debate this both externally. And internally…. Should all media have a policy regarding airbrushing its images, or about carrying airbrushed ads that might mislead . Can they insist all are passed by the ASAI in this regard? Or that they carry a ‘noitice’ like advertorials or sponsored editorial has to?
Retailers (advertisers) should consider their ads and in-store marketing and displays. Can this be a part of the retailer guidelines?
Should the Industry in general create a kitemark or a disclaimer (of a decent size)
But most importantly, and I said I’d start and finish with the parents:
in my view when it comes to childrens issue we need to EMPOWERT parents and EDUCATE children.
We need the debate
By that I mean parents need to act on their position as primary role models as I mentioned earlier.
We need to empower ourselves and BAI campaign and complain about ads you don’t like
And to lobby politicans & Schools regarding the introduction of : media literacy programme
Naval gazing:-
As adults are we guilty of being overly body and image conscious? Did we think about how we look this am when we came in?
Adultd’ disatisfaction with our own appearnce is rife:
Cosmetic surgery on the rise
The Irish cosmetic surgery market might not be the same as in boom-time – but with an estimated value of over €25m it’s still flourishing Experts are cited as saying that it s growing in Ireland on a yearly basis. Client profile has changed. During the Celtic Tiger, a lot of people had it done just for the sake of it. Nowadays, those who get it done are quite serious about it. In my practice, I see celebrities and ‘ordinary’ people, who save to get work done.”
non-surgical cosmetic treatment is Botox (average cost €250-€350
most popular surgical procedure, Men rhinoplasty (nose reshaping), costing on average €5,500-€7,500. A lot of women opt for the ‘angel lift’, a rejuvenation treatment combining laser, platelet injection and fat grafting — prices from €3,500.
So where is all this disatisfaction coming from?