At home earlier this week, my heart sank as Apple's new ad for
its latest model of computers flashed in front of me from the company's
homepage. At first glance, the ad looked like Apple's typical clean cut ad
with five of Apple's new iMac computer monitors filling the ad. Then, I read
the jingle above them: "The new iMac. You can't be too thin. Or too
powerful."
This ad campaign hit a little too close to home. I first heard about
the ad at a local support group I helped to start for women with eating
disorders. I developed bulimia as a sophomore in college several years ago
just before my 21st birthday. Recovery was long and difficult. There were
hours spent crying. I'd binge only to purge. I'd battle media messages that
told I wasn't thin enough. The disorder took over my life. Bulimia left
little room for me to maintain friendships. I spent countless hours teaching
myself to ignore the messages that Madison Avenue creates. With the help of
my family, my faith and my friends, I gave up the unhealthy behaviors of my
eating disorder three years ago. Today, I write a blog about eating
disorders and other issues related to women to help others through their
struggle with societal images of beauty. I don't want other women or girls
to hate their bodies. I want the media and our society to affirm all
expressions of beauty, not just those that are "thin."
Despite my progress, I'm still healing. At our support group meeting
earlier this week, we had talked about the marketing messages so many of us
see and hear, telling us that thin is beautiful. Toward the end of the
discussion, a friend had turned to me and asked, "Have you seen the new
Apple ad? It's horrible."
When I saw the ad later that night, I was shocked. While still a
young professional in the world of public relations and marketing, I
couldn't believe the insensitivity with which Apple put out this ad
campaign. Ads like Apple's hit a nerve for all of us who struggle with
thoughts that we're not skinny enough. In the blogosphere, Apple is getting
its hits. On one blog, a writer said, "They didn't need to go there." A
reader responded, "This one was stupid. I hope whichever marketing genius
came up with it got a slap." "Lori" weighed into the debate, calling the ad,
"very disappointing," and hoping the company would see the "multidimensional
badness of the slogan and change it."
Another blogger groused about the "revolting tagline" of the ad,
saying, "News flash to Steve Jobs and his marketing department: You sure as
hell can be too thin. Your hair can fall out. You can be cold all the time.
Your heart can slow down. You can become psychotic on the subject of food.
In fact, you can be possessed by an illness so powerful that it actually
causes you to violate the most basic human instinct: self-preservation." On
a lighter note, some folks are taking digs at Apple for not being "PC."
I've repeated the words from the ad again to myself like a mantra:
"You can't be too thin. Or too powerful." Suddenly all the voices I'd fought
to silence came rushing back into my mind: Be thin. You're not pretty
enough. Don't eat that. Look like her. Fat is lazy. Thin equals happiness.
Over the last few days, "You can't be too thin. Or too powerful," has played
over and over again in my head. To some, the ad slogan may seem like a silly
jingle to sell computers. To others, we may just be hypersensitive. But to
most young girls and women it's a phrase we hear far too often, defining our
worth. It is a declarative statement that reinforces the self-hate we often
feel toward our own bodies.
The truth is you can be too thin. One in ten anorexia cases ends in
death, says the American Psychology Association. According to the National
Institutes of Mental Health, one in 20 women suffers from eating disorders,
leading to health complications. What kind of message are we sending our new
generation with an ad campaign like Apple's? What are we telling our girls?
We're sending a message associating thin with power.
This kind of socially irresponsible marketing needs to end. No
matter what Apple tries to tell us, "thin" is not what defines our worth.
"Thin" is not what makes us "powerful." With its reputation as a socially
conscious corporation on the line, Apple, which didn't return calls seeking
comment, needs to pull this ad campaign immediately. And, as an apology to
all women and girls who struggle daily to have a positive body image, Apple
should weigh in with a socially conscious mea culpa: donate new iMacs to the
National Association for Eating Disorders.