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Nickole Caballero
ENC 1101
March 24, 2015
Advertisement Paper
What It Takes To Be Skinny
Picture yourself walking through a crowded city filled with tourists from
all over the world. What is the first thing that you notice as you are strolling by?
Advertisements! Varying from positive ads to negative ads, they are everywhere. People
do not stop and take the time to actually realize what they are looking at. Many people
are intrigued by the big picture of skinny sexy women plastered on the side of a building
but don't take the time to interpret its message. Many of the Americans are blinded by the
fact that the majority of these ads are promoting negative and false messages. These ads
promote the idea that being skinny and having a perfect body is imperative in order to fit
in todays society. This fallacy is absorbed daily by every girl in America.
The ad Skinny Water is very colorful and vibrant which is an attractive feature
that will catch the attention to anyone who takes a first glance at it. The bright colors of
the ad make everything seem happy and joyful as if the product will bring joy to your
life. This is the wrong idea that is being portrayed. The people are being blinded by the
colorful water and missing the big picture. By including the motto strut your skinny,
the ad advertises the idea of being skinny. This can create a lot of problems amongst
some of the female population. The ad is also showing four female models. They are
being portrayed as very chic and fashionable women. Their posture says a lot about their
attitude and how they have the mentality of thinking they are the best of the best. The

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goal is to get girls to think that when you drink this Skinny water, you will come out
feeling on top of the world. These results are not going to come magically out of
nowhere. Women have to realize that if they want the perfect body, there has to be lots of
work and effort put into it. Nothing is for free in this life.
In todays world, many girls have the mentality that they have to be skinny in
order to fit in and be beautiful. This shallow mentality can stem from the ads that are
being presented through many kinds of social media. In addition to the excess amount of
pressure expected from females everyday, worrying about their body image should not be
one of them. By promoting this ad, the media is not helping the situation to any extent.
The reason for all of this pressure brought upon society is due to advertisements being
presented in their everyday lives. The way girls think about how they need to look and act
is mainly due to the negative advertisements. This advertisement sends out a subliminal
message to the viewers. Whenever people see vibrant colors, they associate the product
being sold to something that makes them feel very joyful. In their mind, drinking skinny
water, which is a type of drink that is not supposed to make you fat after drinking it, is
something that will bring them happiness in life. Girls who start to drink skinny water can
affect their self-esteem to a point where it can be dangerous. The editor of Seventeen
Magazines states, 70 percent of women feel depressed, guilty, and shameful after seeing
ads that incorporate skinny models (qtd. Shoket). For example, girls who start to drink
this skinny water end up becoming frustrated and upset because they did not reach the
expectations that the ad told them they would achieve.
There are many negative effects that are permeating from this ad. This ad
is indirectly yelling out to the public all negative things and some women cannot realize

this. Like mentioned previously, there is a lot of pressure already on the women of our
society. This ad in particular is not one that should be flaunted all over television and on
the streets of many cities. Since the ad is making women believe certain things, it can
lead to many negative effects such as depression, anorexia, and low self-esteem. These
three things go hand in hand and one leads to the other. It can also lead to more extreme
measures such as attempted suicide and death. A lot of the women are unaware of what
they are putting themselves through. It is such a tragedy to watch the girls do horrible
things to themselves just to try and live up to the expectations portrayed by this ad of
Skinny Water.
Many people in the United States look up to the wonderful models and
tend to imitate everything about them because they see them as the most beautiful people
ever. A study called the Chameleon effect stated, This effect is the natural tendency to
imitate another persons speech inflections and physical expressions (Chartrand and
Bargh). The actions of the models are transmitting to the public in the most negative way
possible. Many girls look up to older figures they see around them. Girls tend to imitate
and aspire to be just as beautiful as the models are. At times, some people take it to the
extreme and the outcome turns out to be something that is not healthy. Many girls already
feel unhappy and uncomfortable with their body. Oprah Fashion and Beauty states, 70
percent of teenagers do not like their body appearance. This is a very high and shocking
statistic. Girls would do anything imaginable to change their bodily figure. Some girls go
the extreme and stop eating just so they can lose the weight. According to EDNOS In
the United States, 20 million women suffer from an eating disorder at some time in their
life (Wade, Keski-Rahkonen, and Hudson, 2011.) Can you believe the amount of women

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who take extreme measures just to be like their role model plastered on the side of the
building? This is unjust and should be taken with great precaution.
This ad well as many other related ads in the media industry are also affecting the
older and younger population of women. According to Mirror Mirror Eating Disorders,
Over 50 percent of 9 and 10 year olds feel better about themselves if they are on a diet.
The media is brainwashing all of the girls for the worse. The media is displaying so many
ads on being skinny and so many pictures that relate to having the perfect body. Girls
from a young age become accustomed to that and grow up thinking that is the way you
have to be in order to fit in with everyone and be pretty. For example, small girls love to
play with dolls. The dolls that are manufactured come out to be super skinny, tall, blonde,
and with blue eyes. This is a stereotype of what it means to be a beautiful woman. All of
the little girls want to look exactly like their dolls and that is not the right mentality. Each
and every day, it is becoming harder to distinguish what is real and what is not. The little
girls do not know any better and believe everything they see. The American Society for
Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ASAPS) states, 11,326 teens underwent breast
augmentations in 2004, compared to 1992 when 978 girls had the procedure done (Sena,
2004). This shows how much of an impact the ads have on the young girls of the United
States. Girls will take extreme measures just to fit in and look to what they think is
beautiful.

There is a great amount of irony with this type of advertising. The media is
always telling the viewers to love themselves for who they are no matter what they look
like. Then you see multiple ads displaying that being skinny is the only shape a girl

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should be. These ads are giving false expectations to all of the girls and women who read
it. According to Central Penn Business Journal, 92 percent of the people surveyed
reported they do not pay attention to advertisements. This statement is false and is a
myth. The average person can typically name hundreds of brands that they see on
television or anywhere on the streets. By just giving them a few hints, they will instantly
remember what they saw after saying that they dont pay attention to the
advertisements. According to Central Penn Business Journals, Our minds retain a great
deal of what we supposedly do not pay attention to according to our conscious
statements. Many people claim that they do not pay attention to advertisements. But
after being exposed to the same kinds of ads over a period of time, the message will
eventually stick to your mind and you will start to believe in what the ad is trying to
portray. This ad is not exemplifying anything positive to girls and women in America. By
making these ads public for everyone to see, it is giving false hope to all of the women.
They feel the need to be just like the girls portrayed in the ad because that is the style.
This is definitely the wrong idea to pursue. Making women feel the need to be as perfect
as the models can lead to endless amounts of negative outcomes.