I just saw this ad on the Huffington Post: (Yes, I was reading the article about the cancellation of “My Own Worst Enemy” a.k.a. “The show that makes me want to turn off the TV the second “Heroes” is over”)
But what I want to talk about is what the hell is going on with this ad? First, both those pictures look like the ones local news stations surreptitiously take of bodies without heads whenever they do news stories about Obesity In America.
Second, who is going to look at that “After” picture and go, “oh yes, that is the body I want, I’m sure it looks much more fab without the horizontal stripes.”
And third, and THIRD, she started out as a BLACK WOMAN and ended up as a WHITE WOMAN!!! What kind of crazy Michael Jackson dieting program is this?
Posted by Little Fish on November 13, 2008 at 10:46 am
That is the funniest thing I have seen all week. Thank you!
Posted by Dutchess of Kickball on November 13, 2008 at 10:48 am
LOL I saw one the other day like this where the before picture is clearly PREGNANT!! I forget where I saw it now, but someone not at all qualified was apparently hired to do advertising.
Posted by alexa on November 13, 2008 at 10:49 am
hahahahaha. this is perfect. that lady is so not FAB.
i guess this miracle cure will wipe the black right off of you. i wonder if it has opposite effects as well?
Posted by Jennifer M. on November 13, 2008 at 11:05 am
As a white girl, I guess you were unaware that the high concentrations of melanin that result in darker skin tone are actually quite weighty. By removing the melanin, the lbs come right off :0)
Posted by 3carnations on November 13, 2008 at 11:25 am
I didn’t notice the change in skin color. Whoops.
Other than that, 12 pounds IS 12 pounds, and even if I didn’t look “fab” afterwards, I suppose I’d still be glad to have shed the 12 pounds…
Posted by mickey on November 13, 2008 at 11:54 am
Good catch. That IS f’ed up.
Also, I’ve started turning off the TV before Heroes comes on.
Posted by Knot on November 13, 2008 at 12:03 pm
“I was born a small black child …” best first line of a movie ever.
Knot
Posted by courtney on November 13, 2008 at 12:05 pm
The hell?
I guess all those commercials for MOWE they aired during the Olympics were all for naught. Sorry, Christian Slater.
Posted by nancypearlwannabe on November 13, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Really, that’s the best picture they could come up with for “Fab”? That definitely says something about our society.
Posted by lizgwiz on November 13, 2008 at 12:36 pm
That is hilarious.
Posted by Ann on November 13, 2008 at 12:43 pm
I’m ashamed to admit I didn’t notice the colour either until you pointed it out. And part of my job is editing – you know, paying attention to little details.
Posted by Aine Caitriona on November 13, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Wait, you mean that skin-bleaching and unfortunate fashion choices aren’t a common side effect? Damn. I’d better lay off the ephedra.
Posted by Abby on November 13, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I’m the one who thought Condi Rice was Hispanic and even *I* noticed the change in skin color.
Posted by abbersnail on November 13, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I saw that ad on another site yesterday and had the same ‘WTF’ moment. It kind of pisses me off, because I feel like the advertisers think we are morons.
Posted by Ashley on November 13, 2008 at 2:53 pm
That’s hysterical. I really want to know who the person was who came up with that ad and then the person who okayed it. I want to shake their hand for being a complete idiot.
Posted by jennifer on November 13, 2008 at 3:27 pm
I saw this the other day and laughed too. OK, so I would rather look like the after because she is smaller. Unfortunately I DO look a lot like that second one and I am (sort of) working on that.
It’s like they KNOW the truly grey matter challenged (did I spell grey right?) will answer these adds, so why try too hard?
Posted by Z on November 13, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Um… Yeah. WTF indeed
Posted by Maxie on November 13, 2008 at 4:55 pm
hahaha RANDOM! The ad people need to pay attention to maybe… skin color?
Posted by sadieandleo on November 13, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Hahahaha… wait she is white now. Whoa.
Posted by Kristabella on November 13, 2008 at 7:21 pm
I love that the second photo is deemed “FAB.” By whom, I’m wondering?
Posted by Stefanie on November 13, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Ha! I did wonder about the skin color change, so I’m glad you mentioned it.
To the Dutchess… well, giving birth IS an excellent way to lose a bunch of weight quickly, right?
And to Abbersnail, sadly, I think a lot of the people the advertisers are targeting to on the web ARE morons. (I don’t think they’d be reading the Huffington Post, though.)
Posted by velocibadgergirl on November 14, 2008 at 10:01 am
ROFL! I almost blogged about this same ad the other day. Who sat in the ad agency and said, “Yeah, they totally won’t notice!”?
Posted by Deb on November 14, 2008 at 12:09 pm
CLASSIC! I never would have noticed because my mind has constructed some clever kinds of walls that don’t let me see diet ads, scales, and sometimes mirrors.
The good thing is that the list of people who clicked on the ad is a GOLDMINE of idiots to market to. I want that list!
Posted by Aaron on November 14, 2008 at 5:25 pm
I saw an ad for that Christian Slater show a few months back and declared it a cancellation waiting to happen. Poor guy. I bet he’s still waiting for that Heathers sequel.
Posted by teahouseblossom on November 15, 2008 at 1:22 am
LMAO!!! Not to mention the weirdly different angles in the two photos.
Actually, I see a beach background. Maybe it’s a before and after photo about coastal erosion?
Posted by Mermu on November 15, 2008 at 11:45 am
And fourth, what the hell is this S&*t doing on Ariana Huffington!!! We hardly knew ye, Arianna. We hardly knew ye…….
Posted by Vanessa on November 16, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Yes, who declares that second picture as fab? They are wrong!