What is advertising telling us?

It’s a cloudy day here today.  It’s funny knowing that these clouds are part of the system dumping snow all over NYC just 6 hours south.  Usually it’s the opposite where we get snow here and rain or nothing down there.  Hope all of you in the snow zone are safely tucked inside!

Went to a different bagel spot today.  We got irritated by the service there a few months ago and hadn’t been back, but decided to give them another try.  I had an energy bagel (which is multigrain with dates and nuts).

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Too much cream cheese!  We scrapped off a good 4 ounces of cream cheese between the 2 of us and just brought that home.  They also raised the prices on the bagels.  Service was fine, but I think we will stick with our other 2 places.

I found this link on youtube about advertising and thinness and it is a little scary:

I worry about young girls (and even grown women) who feel the need to hold themselves to ideals that are only available to 2% of the population (and that 2% also “needs” airbrushing). How do we stop the advertisers from telling us what to do and how to look? Is it as simple as not buying a product? Do we need to speak out with a unified voice directly to the companies? I don’t know the answer, but it concerns me.

What are your thoughts on this video?

Break from work was tuna salad with chips and another tart kiwi!
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I know some people eat the skin on kiwis, but the hairiness grosses me out.  I don’t like fuzzy peach skin either, so there is no way I could stomach the kiwi skin. I do like the innards, though!

Afternoon latte snack time!  With a homemade granola bar:

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I love that John cooks a lot.  It’s nice to be working and smell good things coming from the kitchen 😀  He made up some venison chili for dinner with some of the ground venison my tenant brought me.

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Almost like chili soup, but tasty.  At least sunsets will start being later soon and I can get rid of the yellow hue on my dinner pics LOL!

Ornament of the day:

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A little tuba player for John!  Do you know how hard it is to find tuba ornaments?  I think we have a ratio of 10:1 with horn and tuba on the tree :mrgreen:

One day of work down already!  Woo Hoo!  Going to do an exercise video and possibly make some cookies, but I  might hold off on that for sanity’s sake.  I can eat cookie dough like there is no tomorrow!

20 thoughts on “What is advertising telling us?

  1. Alissa

    That video looks like it’s older, I wonder what the statistics would be like today? I’m sure they’re even worse. It really is a problem that needs to be addressed, but a long as we all keep buying the products they sell, they know their advertising tactics are working.
    .-= Alissa´s last blog ..Saturday =-.

  2. Susan

    That is a really good point about the cigarette advertising!! Scary to think they’re telling girls that smoking will help them eat less. On a similar topic, I found that I was more influenced by those around me than advertising when I was younger. I kinda wish my mom wasn’t so openly unhappy with her weight when I was a kid, because I think I shaped my own body-image emotions after hers. Now I’m the one trying to help HER!
    .-= Susan´s last blog ..All Spun Out =-.

  3. South Beach Steve

    I haven’t had kiwi in ages. I need to buy one sometime.

    Regarding the video – it presents some contradictory stats to another book I am reading. I tend to lean toward the stats in the video, but I need to do some research. I am sure I will be talking about this on my blog soon.
    .-= South Beach Steve´s last blog ..Weigh-In, Measurements, and Goals =-.

  4. Jody - Fit at 52

    Love bagels!!!!! YES! That gingerbread one was so friggin good!!!! I am still thinking about it! 🙂

    I will watch the video later.. I am headed back to bed after my crazy workout time.. BUT I can imagine the thoughts it will bring up! Sp much craziness in the media & movies & TV!

    Stay warm!!!
    .-= Jody – Fit at 52´s last blog ..Kickboxing Update! LOVED IT! =-.

  5. debby

    What I’ve been thinking about is this: do we (the American public) think ‘skinny’ is pretty because advertising shows it to us so much, or does advertising show it to us because we have shown them that we think it is pretty and something we want to see more of? Because I have to admit that I am drawn to somewhat exaggerated pictures. Which made me think about dogs and dog breeding. Look at some of the extremes that humans have bred into dog breeds ON PURPOSE. Short legs, long bodies, extremely thin, massive bones, shortened noses, extra skin, extreme hair. All things that are unnatural and exaggerated and could not exist in nature. But produced on purpose because enough humans found these exaggerated qualities attractive. I tend not to put all the blame on advertising. We humans are a complex bunch.
    .-= debby´s last blog ..The Definitive Yogurt Post =-.

    1. Lori Post author

      That’s a good point, Debby. I wonder if we tend to get sensitized to things (actually I know we do get sensitized), so the exaggerated images happen to make sure the point is hammered home.

      We certainly can’t blame advertisers alone as we as consumers are culpable as well if we keep supporting it.

  6. Cindy

    Great topics Lori! Advertising frustrates me…to the Kay’s commercials to get us thinking we can’t have a great Christmas without diamonds, to ultra thin ness. And everything else in between. I tried so hard to unplug from all that…esp this Christmas…

    It’s so easy to get wrapped up in it!

    So glad for you that hubby cooks! That’s a nice treat~
    .-= Cindy´s last blog ..A Very Cheesy Day =-.

  7. Michelle @ Find Your Balance

    It’s not just that advertising uses thin women – it’s that they use women in submissive, sexually suggestive poses. A thin woman reading a book could be attractive, but oh no, she’s got to be pulling a bra off. It worries me that girls of all shapes and sizes grow up with this emphasis on showing their bodies and appealing to men as a major goal.

    p.s. I can’t eat bagels of any kind! They sent my blood sugar skyrocketing and me hungry again 90 minutes later. 🙂
    .-= Michelle @ Find Your Balance´s last blog ..Getting a brain lift =-.

  8. Tony

    It’s not just in women, but men too these days. And it’s not just in cigarette ads either. If you look closely at alcohol ads, they express the same exact message.
    .-= Tony´s last blog ..The Coward =-.

  9. Heidi

    I actually had a conversation with a girl today who told me she had started smoking to lose weight. Now, 5 years later, she’s a chain smoker with all of the physical tell-tale signs of being one. It’s incredibly scary how the media has manipulated the image of the woman and has likely led to the creation of eating disorders – it certainly happened with me. I also wonder if the introduction of new shows like “More to Love” are improving the problem or feeding the flame.
    That was a very informative video – thanks!
    .-= Heidi´s last blog ..It’s beginning to look a lot like… =-.

  10. Ali

    As a college student on a campus where eating disorders are rampant, I am subject to it everyday. Its sooooooo hard. Sometimes unbearable.
    I went to Ireland in May for a month of study abroad business and they have NONE of this stuff. No weight loss ads or anything. It was so refreshing and for the first time in my life, I wasn’t concerned about how I looked or if I was overweight.
    I wish the USA was just the same. But how do we get there? Hmmm…..
    .-= Ali´s last blog ..What I Know For Sure… =-.

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