Quotes From Around Yon Blobosphere

Nope, not another round of Dove "Real Beauty" ads. And not an Adbusters spoof, either. Salles Chemistri (which also does ads for General Motors) produced these campy, hyperoffensive ads for the Brazilian yogurt company Itambé, to run with the tagline: "Forget about it. Men's preference will never change. Fit Light Yogurt." But we prefer this American version: "Brazilian ads: As progressive as Hollywood!"

Sharon Stone is calling her lawyer right now.

-- RACHEL WOLFF

A new ad campaign for Fit Light Yogurt uses well-known sexy images of famous women (Marilyn Monroe in the white dress, Mena Suvari naked and covered in rose petals in American Beauty, Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct), manipulates them to make the women heavier, and includes the tagline "Forget about it. Men’s preference will never change. Fit Light Yogurt."

The message, apparently, is that men have always and forever preferred skinny chicks, and they always and forever will. The women in the ads are supposed to serve as a contrast to what men really like, since the women in the ads aren’t skinny. Their disgustingly fat bodies are supposed to make us all run for the fat-free yogurt.

-- JILL

Is this company at all connected to an American company? I want to know the parent corporation so I can write them. Wow- didn't think this kind of backwards thinking happened anymore.

-- SNARKSNSMOKE

These ads would be burned if they ran here with riots in the street - the message is certainly not “big is beautiful” -- yet if you can forget about the yogurt and the tagline the photos are actually very well done & stylish!

-- POPBYTES

Gee, that’s not offensive at all. I happen to think the ladies look pretty damn good. Lovely even. And the composition of each shot is brilliant. As if we needed more reminders that a billion-dollar industry’s sole objective is to make us feel shitty about ourselves so we’ll buy their crappy products. Sigh. Well, since "men’s preferences" aren’t really top priority here at Surrenders, let’s just celebrate Real Beauty instead.

-- DOROTHY SNARKER

Must we offend large women to sell them yogurt?

-- THURA

My reaction went from "Oh, how cool!" to "What the hell!" in 1.5 seconds flat, too. These ads are more than offensive; they’re cruel. Each model has a confident radiance that is then mocked mercilessly by an industry that wants us to feel bad so we’ll buy their stuff. In protest, I’m going to look up that American Beauty beauty and invite her to roll around in rose petals with me. Seriously, she’s hot.

-- AFTER ELLEN