In March of 2010, Victorias Secret released a new ad campaign with the tagline I Love My Body, this series of advertisements,

promoting their new body line caused quite a stir by showing only the typical thin, busty Victorias Secret models rather than representing girls with all body types loving their bodies. This ad, shown online, in magazines, and in Victorias Secret stores, seemed to promote the idea that girls should love the way they look..as long as their bodies meet the ideal set by the fashion industry. In August of 2012, model Katie Halchishicks body-positive movement called Healthy is the New Skinny created a campaign known as the Love campaign that was more or less a direct response to Victorias Secrets I Love My Body campaign. This image directly mirrors the Victorias Secret ad by posing and clothing the models identically. Love was an attempt to show women that you didnt have to resemble a Victorias Secret Angel to be sexy and confident. However, the models in this campaign are still all proportionate, large busted, and have fairly flat stomachs. Both ads are directed at young women, and both promote the idea that sexuality and confidence or bodypositivity go hand in hand. These images may initially look very similar, but further observation reveals considerable differences. The purpose of the images, an advertisement for selling bras vs. a campaign promoting body positivity, accounts for these differences. The images both feature seven women in seductive poses wearing lingerie in front of a plain white background with no detail other than the womens shadows. After analyzing the images, you begin to realize that the women in the Love image are in essentially the same poses as the Victorias Secret models, revealing that the Love image was created as a direct response to the I Love My Body advertisement. The first and most obvious difference is the women in them. Although they are dressed and posed the same way in both images, the Love women are obviously much curvier. They are also all (with the exception of one barefoot woman) wearing chunky black high heels and black eyeliner, while the Victorias Secret women have much more natural makeup and are barefoot. The Victorias Secret ad also has the models closer together than does the

Love image. Another significant difference is the text and the way it is used to show the intended purpose of the images. The Victorias Secret advertisement is very straightforward, with the top line saying Victorias Secret, Buy Now and Find a Store. There are also bright pink text blocks at the bottom right corner telling you to Experience All 7 Bras and Take the Quiz and Win! (no purchase necessary). The bottom left corner of the ad says I Love my Body with the O in love portrayed as a heart. By Victoria is below this so the viewer understands that the women love both their bodies and their Body by Victorias Secret bras. The text in this image helps to show the advertisers intention to sell something to their audience. In contrast, there is far less text in the Love campaign image. The only text in the whole image say Healthy is the New Skinny Love Campaign across the top. It is written in plain black type, with the exception of Love, which is written in a more feminine font and a shade of pink similar to the one used in the I Love My Body ad. The Love campaign image doesnt need as much text because it is not attempting to sell something, and most of its message relies on context--it parodies the Victorias Secret ad by assuming the viewers familiarity with the company. Healthy is the New Skinny and Love both serve to make the message of body-positivity apparent. The Victorias Secret advertisement makes a strong argument using both intrinsic and extrinsic ethos through the display of their brand name and the sexually attractive models featured in the advertisement. By displaying the brand name Victorias Secret (both in the upper right corner, and lower right side) they establish the intrinsic ethos because Victorias Secret is such a well-known brand for womens lingerie. With a net worth of $840.9 million, It is apparent that their advertisements are appealing to their female customers. (Limiteds March sales, 2012) When people see a well-known, well-loved brand such as this, they are more likely to assume that the business is credible and that their clothing will be of high quality. This image also employs the use of extrinsic ethos by models or Victorias Secret Angels wearing their lingerie. By featuring these beautiful, thin, famous models wearing their Body line, Victorias Secret sends the message that since women as attractive as these are using their brand, the

women viewing the advertisement should want to as well. The Love campaign image uses ethos in the same way as the Victorias Secret one by using intrinsic ethos through the organizations name, and extrinsic through the use of attractive models. This ethos may not be as effective for several reasons. Healthy is The New Skinny, for instance, is not a household name as is Victorias Secret. However, women already aware of this organization would see the intrinsic appeal right away because of the body-positive message of Healthy is the New Skinny and the fact that it is run by former model Katie Halchishick. The models featured in this image create extrinsic ethos in a different way than in the Victorias Secret image. Though they are not famous or the ideal of a female body as reflected by the Victorias Secret models, they are still quite sexy. Women who look at these beautiful women, who are probably closer the their own size, will want to wear what they are wearing and will be intrigued by the organization they are representing. Pathos is another rhetorical device used by both images. In the Victorias Secret ad the models are all barefoot, nearly naked, and in natural looking make up. The effortless (although the image is likely heavily photoshopped and manipulated by lighting) beauty that these women exude connects to the audiences desire to be beautiful without trying, just like the women they see in advertisements. The use of language like Buy Now and Find a Store is overtly demanding, and making it clear that that this is, in fact, an advertisement. This demanding tone is made less obvious and harsh because of the juxtaposition of the use of soft feminine pinks, hearts, and the positive message I Love my Body. More than just selling a line bras, this Victorias Secret advertisement is selling a fantasy. The use of natural beauties, the feminine color pink, and body-friendly message shown serve to make customers consider buying this bra in hope that it will make them look like the models shown, love their bodies, and exude femininity and sexuality. The Love campaign uses pathos in a different way. The models in this image are wearing lingerie and posing similarly to the Victorias Secret girls- with two major differences. First, these models are much larger than the Victorias Secret girls. In

addition, instead of going to for the natural beauty appeal, they are decked out in clunky black high heels and black eyeliner. The fact that the models in this image are more average sized than the Victorias Secret angels connects to many women on an emotional level by allowing them to compare themselves to someone closer to their own size. However, these models are still probably all smaller than a size fourteen, which is the actual average size of American women, according to the Plain Dealer news webpage (Size 14 is Average, 2010) and extremely well proportioned. The use of more makeup and the sexy shoes seems to send the message that in order to be as beautiful as the Victorias Secret models, larger girls are going to have to try just a little bit harder. The use of the body-positive term healthy rather than skinny, and the word love reiterates the body-positive message being sent by the ad. Writing the word love in a pink, feminine script appeals to traditional femininity in the same way as the Victorias Secret ad. There is much less text in present in the Love image, only the name of the organization and the campaign, probably because this image is not actually advertising anything for sale. The lack of text causes viewers to look more to the visuals in order to interpret the meaning of the image. One of the Love campaigns largest appeals to the emotions of the audience is based on the context of their image in contrast to the Victorias Secret advertisement, and the fact that the women are posed similarly in both images. This deliberately forces the viewer to directly compare and contrast the bodies of the models in the two images. This is meant to help the audience to conclude that a larger woman can be just as sexually attractive as a very thin one. Although the heels and makeup do detract from this intended message, it is still an effective use of pathos because by showing the average woman someone who is at least closer to her own size in a light that is normally reserved for only the very thin, she is more likely to grow to actually love her body and feel more confident in her own sexuality. Both images also use logos to make their arguments. The Victorias Secret advertisement makes the logical argument that the models shown love their bodies-their thin,

busty bodies- and that if you buy the Body by Victorias Secret bra, you will be sexually attractive like these models, and you will love your body too. This argument relies on the customer believing that by buying this bra they will actually be more likely to love their bodies. and being sexy is necessary for them to love themselves. The Love campaign image, despite seeming more progressive than the Victorias Secret ad, relies on similar logic to make its argument. This image tells women that Healthy is the new Skinny because larger, healthierbodied women can be just as sexy as thin ones. This image reflects one caveat, though: these women may have to try a bit harder to be sexually attractive, so they should put on some makeup and high heels. This argument also relies heavily on the assumption that the audience will consider being sexually appealing to others vital their ability to love themselves, which is disturbing. Both images use the ethos, pathos, and logos in order to appeal to women. Although these images are different and send different messages, they use these appeals in surprisingly similar ways. Both rely on ethos--intrinsic ethos through the display or their brand names and extrinsic ethos through the use of sexy models wearing their products or supporting their cause. They also appeal to them with pathos--appealing to traditional femininity through the use of the color pink and heart imagery, and to the desire to be sexaully appealing and to love their bodies. Finally, the advertisers use logos to make women feel as though they will need to either buy their product or to ascribe to their belief system in order to be sexy and in turn, to love themselves.

sources:

McDonnell-Parry, Amelia. "Victorias Secrets Love My Body Campaign Is About Everything But At Least So Far." The Frisky. N.p., 1 Mar. 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.

Denza, Diana. "Healthy Is The New Skinny Launches the Love Campaign." BUST Magazine. N.p., 21 Aug. 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.

Terif Team. "Limiteds March Sales Top Market Expectations On Victorias Secret."Trefis. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.

"Northeast Ohio." The Plain Dealer. N.p., 25 Aug. 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.