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Picture perfect at a price
05-02-2010Walking back from lunch today I was greeted with a towering outdoor poser for Lancome. Immediately it caught my eye. Smart advertising you might say. More like utter disbelief I would argue for it was not the colour of the advert, no was it a catchy tag line, not even a just-too-good-to-resist special offering that the company was promoting. Rather it was the picture perfect face of one Kate Winslet starring out at me with those crystal clear blue eyes, her immaculate porcelain skin the ideal goal of every woman (and indeed many men).
Everything about the advert screamed perfect, flawless and desirable. This is how a woman should look and indeed this is how all women would look, not if they bought the 'oh so lovely' products from Lancome, but rather, if they knew a photographer who could be just as kind with the airbrush.
The picture oozed airbrushing from every angle and every core and I have to say I was disappointed. I had always admired Kate (yes we are on a first name basis now) for her outspoken opinions on the whole topic of airbrushing following a bit of overkill by GQ on her front cover picture back in 2003.
It is disgraceful that fashion magazines, cosmetic companies and the media in general, do this, the creation of a never possible image. It tells young girls, women and even men that this is what 'good' looks like, any deviation from this obviously only falls into one category and it sure isn't the pretty one.
It targets those people who are not comfortable enough in their own bodies to see the blatant lie that the air brush paints. Those same people will strive to reach that impossible goal. What's most frustrating about the whole thing is the air brush what doesn't need to be touched. It's Kate Winslet for crying out loud. The English rose. What message does that send out to impressionable young people? Someone that gorgeous still needs a bit of work. Someone this pretty isn't picture perfect. It's truly insane.
Every person out there is utterly perfect in their own unique way and it is things like this that would lead us to forget the most important rule of all and that is beauty comes from within. No amount of airbrushing, photo editing or even make up can change that.
Tags: meanderings PR stuff
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