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People Are Talking Sep 27, 2007 @ 3:11pm

Exploitative or Enlightening? Nolita’s No-Anorexia Campaign

nolita ad campaigns.jpg Sensationalism is not a foreign concept in fashion advertising.

For every classic Ralph Lauren ad starring an elegant Valentina, there’s a racy Terry Richardson campaign for Tom Ford fragrances featuring a bottle of cologne wedged between a model’s sweat-slick breasts.

In the style world, ads don’t only sell a product — they promote an aesthetic, a lifestyle. However, the line between provocative and edgy and offensive and brand-damaging is thin.

The recent controversy over Italian fashion label Nolita’s “No Anorexia” campaign is particularly interesting as it addresses a medical issue much discussed in style circles: eating disorders.

But is Nolita’s campaign exploitative or enlightening?

Unlike Benetton, some of whose controversial ’90s campaigns were also shot by Oliviero Toscani, Nolita has not announced involvement with any charities or foundations concerned with the issue they seek to address.

And looking at Nolita’s other campaigns, it’s clear that while their models aren’t Snejana-tiny, they are certainly very thin.

When should a clothing company take a stance on a social issue, and when do they have the credibility to do so?

—NATALIE GUEVARA

nolita ad campaigns.jpg

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posted by charlotte

Sep 27, 2007 3:21PM

that is far past just taking a stand against the disease - their website is even more disturbing to look at when it's the size of your screen

posted by guest

Sep 27, 2007 3:29PM

I think it's interesting how they chose to shoot her in a flattening and unflattering cold light vs a normal ad, which makes her look sicker and almost dirty. They clearly thinking about the marketing and not just the issues that this illness creates.

Either way, they got people to notice their brand and that's all they probably hoped for. The question is, will it raise their sales?

posted by Maggie P.

Sep 27, 2007 3:34PM

It's exploitative - pure and simple. Insteading of bringing to the forefront a very serious discussion about eating disorders, this ad works only to victimize a victim. There are imagines like this all over the media and are used to sell particular ideologies all the time. I've just never seen one used to sell an actual product before.

posted by Rebe

Sep 27, 2007 3:59PM

One also has to take into consideration that Isabelle Caro (the anorexic woman in the add) must know that there are going to be a lot of other anorexics who are going to look upon her skeletal figure in envy, not digust.

The people who are going to look upon that image with disgust are not the people who need help.

I really fail to see whom this add is designed to better.

posted by lylli

Sep 27, 2007 4:31PM

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=483762

this is a good article to read and it helped me understand the campaign idea better

posted by Cynthia C

Sep 27, 2007 4:32PM

Disgusting.

posted by louise

Sep 27, 2007 5:00PM

I was quite shocked by the ads on their site. I agree with Rebe that some pro-ana's will look at her figure in envy, but the fur on her body was really upsetting. It might be a media strategy, but it gets you thinking about the seriousness of the disease.

posted by avb

Sep 27, 2007 5:12PM

Maybe the "non-anorexic" model on bottom really is just naturally thin. Somehow, it seems dubious. Regardless, Nolita should have thought twice before putting just as unnatianable an image of a woman's body underneath the unhealthy woman.

posted by Claire

Sep 27, 2007 5:18PM

Natalie, got right to the point that I've been thinking about, too. If Nolita's intention is to raise awareness (about more than just their brand), they should be doing it in partnership with an organization that can provide referrals and information.

When I was the director of an eating disorders organization, I met Magali Amadei--one of the first top models to speak publicly about her own battle with bulimia. We created an educational program to honestly discuss disordered eating and connect people with resources. That was in 1999. Nearly a decade later, we're still working together. And the problem is more rampant than ever.

That said, I have seen more discussion in the industry over the last year than in all the time I've been doing this work. There are people who want to make positive changes, but we have to keep them engaged and focused on what they can actually do to help. While a shocking ad might keep the conversations going (and I'm all in favor of that), with no follow-up, I'm afraid it will be all talk and no action.

posted by my fall collection

Sep 27, 2007 5:46PM

I don't get it... the second girl is just a clothed, airbrushed, and made-up version of the first girl, really. Also, health issues aside --this is just aesthetically unpleasing.

posted by guest

Sep 27, 2007 6:13PM

Well like Tyra said on Top Model the other night, fashion is supposed to be disturbing.

But to get to the point, just what exactly is Nolita's point? That skinny people look scary? People who don't have eating disorders already know that.

But those who suffer from the disorders DO NOT see themselves in the same way. They think they look fine.

posted by Jac

Sep 27, 2007 10:35PM

Do you guys think that people who are anorexic are the same people who lose weight unhealthily (any number of ways, not eating, drugs, over exercising) because they see that the aesthetic of the moment (in hollywood and in fashion) is skinny? I've always understood anorexia to be about control, not necessari;y as an answer to the Moss's and Kidman's of the world. That isn't to say that those beauty ideals don't cause anorexia, just that the pro-anas aspire to something else entirely. This ad doesn't do anything for me unless this brand uses normal (or at least fit, healthy) people for their ads on a normal basis.

posted by faustine

Sep 28, 2007 2:03AM

Well I do find that add useful. It makes you realize that all the models we see all year long in advertisement are extremely thin and have not a healthy body. Maybe the use of a anorexic girl is provocative, but I find it useful. It might not help the anorexics, but it should help the women who diet all year long thinking looking like a bag of bones is beautiful.

I've seen models walking out of the catwalk in paris and once you see them in real, not in a glamourous picture that make teenagers dream, you realize many of them have 12-year old bodies and no breasts, which is not precisely going to attract men.

I think it is time to do something, and even if Nolita does it for marketing purposes at least something is being done. Some months ago, I saw the pictures of a curvy model wearing size 42 and thought : "Oh my God, that woman is so fat !". It took me some time to realize that I see women wearing 42 every day on the street and that many look lovely. However our eyes have been trained to see only women wearing 34 in magzines for years, distorting our vision of the world. Just look how famous actresses have felt compelled to lose more and more weight during the past decade ! Maybe it is time someone does something...

posted by Pink Tartan

Sep 28, 2007 12:15PM

I think a clothing company should take a stance on a social issue when there is a strong belief about that issue within that company. Advertising can help raise awareness of a particular issue as well as raise sales. Benetton has been doing it for years.
If Nolita isn't providing any funds towards organizations that educate about or treat anorexia or other eating disorders, then it's a cheap ploy. Nothing more.
Most consumers are pretty saavy about social relevance within fashion advertising and most can probably see
through this very 'thin' ad.

posted by Vonnie

Sep 28, 2007 3:48PM

It's not compelling to me...I feel it fell short of what it was trying to accomplish