There are worse things to be than fat.

It’s no secret that women are often objectified in the media and in public, and that a woman’s body shape and weight are often discussed and judged. Just look at all those tabloid magazines highlighting actresses’ cellulite or comparing bikini bods in their “Hot or Not” columns. Just look at all the beauty products being hawked in department stores. It is a sad truth that one does get judged based on one’s physical appearance. And everyone knows that marketing and advertising campaigns exploit that to a certain extent.

But this television commercial from London Weight Management has taken it way too far.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVpC3yS2d58]

NOTE: To make matters worse, if you were to open this video in its YouTube page, the description reads: “You can now have a better solutions to learn to be a perfect woman. With London Weight Management, We Care, We Share.”

The Message

In her open letter to London Weight Management, Antia Kapoor gives us a good rundown of the content. But let’s go over it again, with translation for those who don’t understand Mandarin. If you’ve already seen the ad/know what’s in it, just skip this section.

A sepia colour palette, making everything look dark and dreary. A Woman stands on a balcony with her wailing baby in a pram, crying. VOICEOVER and TEXT: “Women… what do they live for?”

Three management people (2 men, 1 woman; the woman well-groomed with make-up and slim) looking smugly/angrily at the Woman. The middle guy, Boss Man, throws her termination letter at her, saying, “You know that one’s image is very important to our work! In this current state that you’re in, you’re not fit to work here!”

The Woman stumbles out of the office, dropping her papers and tripping on them. She falls down crying against the wall. TEXT: “Terminated from work.”

In the bathroom, the Woman weighs herself. She’s about 70kg. VOICEOVER: “Who can understand what I’m feeling now?” She looks at herself in the mirror, full of self-loathing. She then throws something at the mirror, breaking it. She screams.

The Woman tries to tug on a party dress that is too tight for her. VOICEOVER: “I hate who I am now.”

She can’t button her pants. She examines her flabby arms in the mirror. VOICEOVER: “Do I have to live like this forever?” She screams.

TEXT: Depression. The Woman is sitting in the kitchen holding her baby. Her husband walks by. VOICEOVER: “Depression creeps up on me. I don’t even feel secure in my family.” She starts nagging her husband. Her husband screams at her and they begin arguing while she tries to cover her baby’s ears. The baby begins to cry.

Walking on the street with her shopping, The Woman faints. She gets rushed to the hospital. TEXT: “Weight problems lead to high blood pressure, diebetes and heart problems.” The doctor tells her, “Because you are too fat, you have high blood pressure, diabetes and heart problems. You should think about your family.”

The Woman in a wheelchair sits at a window. A look of resolve comes over her face and she stands up. VOICEOVER: “It’s time to change. This is the turning point of my life.”

She goes to London Weight Management and shakes the hand of some perfectly made-up doll of a woman. VOICEOVER: “London’s professionals understand my slimming needs. In just 3 months, I lost 20kg.”

We cut to the Woman, now slim, with a LWM professional, smiling. The Woman, in a tight red minidress, examines herself in the mirror.

The Woman and her husband, walking with their arms around each other, sitting close together and laughing. VOICEOVER: “Women… what do they live for?” And look, even the baby is happy and laughing! VOICEOVER: “For those you love, and those who love you.”

The tagline of London Weight Management: “Make life even more perfect.”

A true story

According to London Weight Management, this ad is based on a true story, that of one of their satisfied customers who lost 20kg in 3 months. Perhaps that would be their defense in this abhorrent commercial. But saying that it’s based on a true story doesn’t make it any less offensive, sexist and wrong.

For one, I highly doubt that this is an accurate portrayal of the true story. Did London Weight Management really solve her depression, her marital issues, her work, her high blood pressure and diabetes? Were all her problems stemming only from one cause – her weight? Did dropping 20kg really make everything perfect again?

Trampling over women’s self-worth

We all know that all ad campaigns are manipulative and a little bit bastardly. We all know to take commercials with a pinch of salt (size varying according to the source and the ad). Despite the laws and rules against false advertising, we all know that ads do not reflect reality.

But there’s a difference between slight exaggerations and hamming it up, and being outright offensive and irresponsible.

This is what the London Weight Management ad is basically saying:

If your bosses are firing you because they don’t like your appearance, it’s not unfair termination, it’s because you’re fat.
If your husband is raising his voice and shouting at you, it’s not verbal abuse, it’s because you’re fat.
If you feel depressed and overwhelmed, it’s not a mental health issue, it’s because you’re fat.
And if you’re fat, it’s all your fault that you have these problems. It’s all your fault because you aren’t trying harder to be slim and beautiful for your baby, your husband, your bosses and everyone else who has to look at you.

The ad ties a woman’s entire worth to her weight, as if a woman would be of no value to society just because she’s got the wrong BMI. As if it is justified for everyone to reject her just because of her weight. The statements “Women… what do they live for?” and “For those you love, and those who love you” in this context suggest that it is a woman’s responsibility to make sure she is slim and sexy for her loved ones… as if they would stop loving her or she would stop being worthy of their love if she weren’t the perfect 36-24-36.

Sure, many of us will be able to see through this and brush it aside. But what of the more vulnerable ones out there, the ones this ad is really targeting? What about the young girls and women already struggling with self-image and self-esteem issues? What about the new mothers who are just taking that little bit longer to lose their pregnancy weight (especially seeing that the woman in this video is a new mother herself)? What about all the women out there who are already fighting destructive eating disorders? What are they supposed to feel when they see an ad that tramples all over their already fragile senses of self-worth?

This is especially horrible if you factor in the point that London Weight Management’s programs are not free charity health regimens – they are expensive packages and treatments, things that only a certain segments of the population can afford. How do you expect an insecure young woman who can’t afford the treatment to feel upon watching this ad? Is it also her fault that she can’t afford to go to London Weight Management to become thin and beautiful?

London Weight Management – A healthy solution?

I find it also incredibly disingenuous to advertise London Weight Management as the solution to all problems, including psychological and physical health issues. Sure, they might help you to lose weight, but I’m pretty sure they don’t cure depression (especially if it’s actually post-partum depression), high blood pressure, diabetes and heart problems.

Weight could be a factor to certain health issues, but there are other factors as well, factors that could be just as in need of medical attention. Advertising London Weight Management as a cure-all is actually incredibly irresponsible, spreading information that is not only false but harmful. Sometimes weight loss is not the only answer towards improving one’s health.

“It’s just an ad, no big deal!”

Some who have seen the ad think it’s no big deal, and that people should be taking it so seriously because it’s just advertising. They point out that all advertising begins with trying to exploit a “need”, to encourage people to buy their products. But again, this is not about exploiting a “need”, this is not about tapping into a market.

This ad is a contributing factor to a whole culture of sexism, superficiality and misogyny that causes women to feel like shit about themselves, to develop self-image issues and even eating disorders. Unlike what the ad itself suggests, being overweight doesn’t actually cause the depression – more often than not it’s the judgement and discrimination that causes overweight women to develop depression. And that’s exactly what the ad is doing – judging and discriminating. And that does not make London Weight Management part of the solution; it makes them part of the problem.

There are worse things to be than fat, and that’s to be insensitive, unethical and predatory like London Weight Management.

P.S. This is London Weight Management’s Twitter page: @londonweightmy. I can’t find an email address to express my disgust to, so I tweeted them with the hashtag #ShameLWM. Do let them know what you think of the ad as well.