Mayor Molony of Mount Isa (Australia) begs “ugly ducklings” to flock to a remote mining town. Read the article here.

I was going to blog about these two commercials I had seen, but then found this bold and hilarious video. I had no idea that both commercials were done by the same company, Allergan, but it definitely makes sense. Their marketing department is fairly consistent: ill-chosen slogans.

In regards to women “expressing themselves” through botox, that is ludicrous. Can I express myself with liposuction or breast implants? And if so, what am I expressing? “HEY WORLD! I AM UNHAPPY WITH HOW I LOOK!” or “WOMEN WHO AGE ARE VALUELESS!”

Forget those angst-y painters. Let’s abandon the arts and get botox!

She’s got great things to say about some not so great magazines.

“A study published in the October 2006 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry found that at some point in the lives of an estimated 5.8% of the U.S. population, shopping will become a source of shame, a cry for help, the cause of job losses and broken relationships, a road to financial ruin. They are ‘compulsive buyers’ — troubled by intrusive impulses to shop, prone to lose track of time while doing so, plagued by post-purchase remorse, guilt and financial woes and sometimes given up on by loved ones.”

Read the article here.

Read it here

Dr David Regis, research manager at the SHEU, said in-depth interviews with participants suggested media images of superslim celebrities and models such as Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss and Nicole Richie fuelled the obsession with weight.

“Dissatisfaction with their bodies often seems to originate from, or is certainly accentuated by, celebrity culture and the print media and magazines,” he said.

“These young women are very aware of pressures from the media around body image and appearance.

“They are able to discuss these magazines critically and say they should not be showing an inappropriate range of unusually thin women, but they do still feel the pressure to be thinner.

“There is a tension in their attitudes - yes, they criticise some celebrities for being too thin, but will still want to be like them.”

He added: “There are so few women in modelling, films and fashion who have got anything like a normal distribution of weight.

“I’m not saying people like Kate Moss shouldn’t model, but can’t there be some other people as well?“

Amen Dr Regis.

…with this horrible ad featuring a “used” 13 year old looking model.
One woman commented that the ad is from Greece, so I’m not sure if it would be applicable to write BMW in the U.S. Here is the contact info anyway (also located in the comments):

“Everyone is judging you constantly, so listen to us or suffer the consequences”: an analysis of the latest Seventeen

“You know we have a serious problem when women are sacrificing their health for the sake of attaining their beauty standard“: skin cancer rises among young white women

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Introducing Jessica Alba in the new Revlon commercial and my thoughts.

Do you know what you want? I do. What I really want is my foundation to match my skin.

Please tell me you want more than this from life. YES, I know what I want, and it has nothing to do with make-up.

Now I can turn a dial, and look! There’s my perfect shade. New Revlon, custom creations — this shade’s mine; go get your own.

Wow, aren’t you sassy?

I like how the name is “custom creations,” as if you’re creating something by using it. I usually interpret creation as “an original product of human invention or artistic imagination,” something involving creativity. Jessica, sign up for a ceramics class!

Visit the home page to see cartoon Bethany’s reaction to pop culture in her world.

Just when I’d thought I’d seen it all in Italy (like the Dolce and Gabanna ad that looks like a gang rape scene) a friend of mine pointed me to this (Note: this is NOT work safe material). Tom Ford is an American designer, not Italian. The title translates to something like “Stop all the publicity of Tom Ford; he crosses the line.” I’d have to agree.

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