FOX And ABC Censor Plus Sized Lingerie Ad

[MrsSpringsteen]

Let's see-we can have Victoria's Secret commercials and fashion shows , but this ad creates a problem for what reasons? I guess it's just too much cleavage (that was allegedly their problem with the ad)-but that just happens when you have a larger sized woman in lingerie. But of course we can also have photos of Heidi Montag on the news in a bikini with her huge implants clearly visible. Maybe it's just me but I don't see how some of those Victoria's Secret models have much less cleavage than that, not to mention all the writhing around and innuendo. What about cheerleaders on sidelines? That's less?

Oh well FOX and ABC-plenty of free publicity for Lane Bryant.

Let's just keep those plus sized breasts covered.

adweek.com

Lane Bryant Says Fox, ABC Censored Spot

April 20, 2010

- Steve McClellan

Lane Bryant is up in arms that two networks -- Fox and ABC -- have resisted airing a sexy lingerie ad from the company in time periods where the networks have broadcast other racy fare.

In a post on LB's Inside Curve blog, the company complains that "ABC and Fox have made the decision to define beauty for you by denying our new, groundbreaking Cacique commercial from airing freely on their networks." The ad, which was initially available on YouTube and at lanebryant.com/sexy, has since been removed. It was created by Omnicom's Zimmerman.

The post also claims that ABC "restricted our airtime" and refused to air the spot during Dancing With the Stars, while Fox "demanded excessive re-edits and rebuffed it three times before relenting to air it during the final 10 minutes of American Idol, but only after we threatened to pull the ad buy."

The post continues: "Yes, these are the same networks that have scantily-clad housewives so desperate they seduce every man on the block -- and don't forget Bart Simpson, who has shown us the moon more often than NASA -- all in what they call "family hour.'"

The ad depicts several attractive, plus-sized models in the latest line of Lane Bryant lingerie. Ample cleavage-which Bryant says was a problem for the nets-is on display in the ad. "The networks exclaimed, 'She has...cleavage!' Gasp!'' the blog post states.

"While it's no secret that Victoria's Secret 'The Nakeds' ads are prancing around on major networks leaving little to the imagination, steaming up TV screens and baring nearly everything but their souls, our sultry siren who shows sophisticated sass is somehow deemed inappropriate ... Does this smack of a double standard? Yep. It does to us, too," the post continues.

Not surprisingly, comments from readers on the blog support the ad and chide the networks. "I have been advocating for curvy girls for about 20 years now ... and STILL there is bigotry against women of size. We're deemed inappropriate, unintelligent, and we're shunned. This happens to us on a daily basis!," wrote one responder who identified herself as Willokeays.

"What is wrong with people? She looks gorgeous," added another writer, responding as Marycontrary.

Reps at the two networks could not immediately respond to the client's complaints about their treatment of the client's ad.

YouTube - The Lingerie Commercial Fox and ABC Did Not Want Their Viewers To See.

 

[BVS]

Pretty hypocritical compared to other ads they air...

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Also that Dancing With The Stars bit-they had a female dancer dance in nothing but a lacy bra and panties last week. Plus the outfits that all the females (pro and not) on that show wear, some of them are so revealing and show that much cleavage and more. And the guys take their shirts-and pants off in the case of Jake the bachelor. That's all in the "family hour", so I call complete hypocrisy on that one. As long as Kym in the bra and panties wasn't plus sized and didn't have too much cleavage it's justifiable I guess. I kept wondering how they got that past ABC standards and practices.

Consciously or subconsciously they are defining beauty, and certainly by their curious double standards they are

 

[nathan1977]

Also that Dancing With The Stars bit-they had a female dancer dance in nothing but a lacy bra and panties last week.

The executives would probably say the "Dancing" outfits are meant to be artistic, not sexy. Not defending - just saying - I agree some of those outfits are outrageous.

Is Victoria's Secret allowed to run ads during the 8:00 hour?

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Is Victoria's Secret allowed to run ads during the 8:00 hour?

Don't know but I highly doubt it. But the content, ad and otherwise, during the so called family hour can be dubious at best. When are all of those Viagra and KY ads on? Are those confined to so called family hours? It seems to me like they're on all hours, but maybe that's just me. And as far as Dancing With The Stars goes, the bra and panties was probably confined to after 9. But come on, realistically speaking the kiddies stopped watching right at 9? Bra and panties time so off to bed kiddies! Cleavage and man cleavage alert (luckily for me DWTS is all about the man cleavage).

Yes, that's like Oprah being allowed to have all kinds of graphic sex talk because it's edumacational. We all know what's going on there. It's "artistic". Oprah is artistic but Howard Stern isn't.

The fact remains that if cleavage really was the issue you have to have a level standard for cleavage-cleavage is cleavage no matter how big or small it is. Cleavage is just that, it's not displaying of breasts. Larger women tend to have larger cleavage, there are exceptions I suppose but it's just a fact of nature. If you don't it can come across as a discriminatory practice. And as hypocritical.

PS I'll take some of that model's extra

 

[deep]

They are probably just protecting their bottom (pun maybe intended) line.

I am sure the corn fed Bible Belt states would be up in arms over depictions of people that don't look like Hollywood elitists (skinny crack heads) acting like sex hungry whores.

 

[nathan1977]

the content, ad and otherwise, during the so called family hour can be dubious at best. When are all of those Viagra and KY ads on? Are those confined to so called family hours?

Pretty sure I've never seen a KY ad during the family hour. And the Viagra commercials aren't offensive in terms of their content -- most kids aren't going to understand the ad, esp since the adults are sitting in separate bathtubs. (Which I don't understand either.)

realistically speaking the kiddies stopped watching right at 9?

It's not a perfect system, but as a parent, I do appreciate that Standards & Practices is trying to exert some kind of bar for appropriateness. At six years old, my little girl doesn't need to be hypersexualized just yet, and she certainly doesn't need the message that the only way to get a man is to strip down to your skivvies.

 

[Jive Turkey]

I'd turn chubby chaser for that girl. but she must have huge thighs as they keep no-so-discreetly covering them up in the commercial

 

[coolian2]

Pretty hypocritical compared to other ads they air...

that's exactly it.

 

[nathan1977]

Fox to air delayed Lane Bryant ad

 

[nathan1977]

that's exactly it.

Hogwash. Fox said they would air it after 9, like they do with Victoria's Secret ads. LB decided they didn't like that. You create a sexy ad, a network says "we'll air it after 9." You say, "We don't like that timeslot." The network says, "too bad, airing sexy advertisements during the Family Hour isn't a right."

A non-issue.

 

[BVS]

Hogwash. Fox said they would air it after 9, like they do with Victoria's Secret ads. LB decided they didn't like that. You create a sexy ad, a network says "we'll air it after 9." You say, "We don't like that timeslot." The network says, "too bad, airing sexy advertisements during the Family Hour isn't a right."

A non-issue.

If this is indeed true then you're right...

 

[Jive Turkey]

YouTube - Lane Bryant Ad- McRib Remix

 

[dazzlingamy]

I think its laughable about sizes. Like they matter? In all honesty i have friends of all shapes and sizes and we all go through the same things as each other. Sure the smaller girls have more of a range of clothes but its getting better and beyond that i see nothing of difference. Small girls who haven't got boyfriends and no one seeming interested to big girls getting married and having babies and vice versa. I mean isn't that all that size it attributed, big girls ar eunattractive and not wanted while smaller girls are the epitomy of attractiveness.

To the people who still think size matters i laugh at you because you need to keep up. Same goes for TV networks.

 

[AliEnvy]

This makes Lane Bryant's marketing plan a huge ( ) success.

No promotion budget? No problem! Just get your 25 second ad to go viral by being on the news for being "excluded" from a time slot you can't afford anyway. Voilà...rack up the sales volume. More with less.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Victoria's Secret ads are on during soap operas, in the afternoon. I was in a waiting room the other day and they had GH on, the Naked Victoria's Secret ad was on twice. It's really funny with the closed captioning on. I think VS ads are on at all hours. Don't think they edit them much or at all, they all look the same to me. Maybe during soap operas less writhing is allowed. A few years back, with all the FCC crackdowns, soaps had to be less risque. I watch GH when I can (and the reruns on Soap Net) and they don't seem as risque to me. Kids and teens can and do watch soaps if their viewing isn't monitored.

But if will air a VS ad at 3PM then you can certainly air a Lane Bryant ad during the "family" hour. Yes they do cover the thighs of the Lane Bryant model, I don't know what the rules are about thighs. Again, hers would probably be judged to be too "revealing" because they're larger.

Personally I'd rather have a kid see some cleavage than have them ask me what Viagra's for. It's cleavage, it exists naturally in this world. Again, what about the cheerleader shots during football games? They don't seem too strict about those thin women in those skimpy outfits.

The Playtex defense seems ridiculous to me-those bras are like body armor and you can't see a thing. Fuller figured women have the right to have sexy lingerie too. And you can't advertise a bra like that for a woman with more cleavage and have it look like a Playtex bra.

 

[nathan1977]

But if will air a VS ad at 3PM then you can certainly air a Lane Bryant ad during the "family" hour.

This isn't a double standard. In the same way that you can air a VS ad at 3PM, you could probably air a LB ad, albeit to a small audience that won't give you the reach you're looking for. At 3 PM the FCC probably figures most kids are still in school -- not to mention the incredibly shrinking audience for soaps, plus the fact that kids are more likely to be watching Disney, Nick, Cartoon Network, etc. The question is whether you can run the ad during the family hour, when the vast majority of people -- particularly families -- are watching FCC-regulated broadcast TV. As a result, no VS ads from 8-9; no LB ads from 8-9. No hypocrisy or double standard.

Again, a false tornado of controversy, designed to do one thing: get us talking about LB. And they did. So, kudos to them.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Yes kudos to Lane Bryant-but maybe they do also have a legit, albeit self serving, point about standards of beauty being defined. After all, this is the first and one and only tv ad I can ever remember showing a plus sized (which these days is probably defined as a size 12 or more, when the average American woman is a 14) woman in sexy lingerie. I'm sure there isn't much plus sized sexy lingerie out there so that's partially the reason. But there must be more these days because there is a market and demand for it.

Victoria's Secret wants to pretend that larger women don't exist -well other than large breasts on skinny models. They're selling fantasy and larger women just don't fit into that. I'll think differently the first time I see a truly plus sized model in any VS ads or shows or whatever. Not holding my breath. How much do they define what's thin and what's larger? Those ads do help to mold and define that. I think that model is fabulous looking.

 

[AliEnvy]

The beauty ideal has always been about fantasy. So if that's what VS is selling to a niche demographic, so what, nothing wrong with staying true to the brand.

 

[BVS]

I've never understood women's sizes(I mean dress sizes 6,8,10,12, etc...), and I've looked up a few photographic size charts and they all differ.

If a size 14(which seems slightly high to me) is average can someone post a photographic size chart that they think is accurate?

 

[AliEnvy]

You're right, women's sizing is all a mirage. Even for women.

Is Christina Hendricks from Mad Med sexy or portly? She's likely size 10 or 12.

 

[BVS]

I think Christina is gorgeous, but I would have thought she would be about average size, rather than below average.

 

[coolian2]

i'd be thinking the fact that people seem to no longer be used to natural* large breasts is why there's an impression of her being bigger than she actually is.



*=a google search says they're real.

 

[Liesje]

The beauty ideal has always been about fantasy. So if that's what VS is selling to a niche demographic, so what, nothing wrong with staying true to the brand.

Exactly. I doubt either company really cares about defining any sort of standard for American women or depicting the "average", they just want to find their niche and market their brand.

 

[corianderstem]

Sizing is pretty arbitrary. A 6 in one clothing line can vary quite a bit from a 6 in another store. And British sizes don't necessarily match up with US sizing either.

And then there's the whole "Oh, but Marilyn Monroe was a size 12" or whatever the quote is - sizes have changed a lot over the past few decades. There's a lot of "vanity" sizing going on, so women can somehow think they're smaller just because they can fit into a lower number in size.

Good times.

 

[Liesje]

Yep I have pants I wear regularly in three different sizes, some even from the same stores in different sizes. Actually, I have two jeans, each with two pairs in a different size, exact same jeans. I wear them all!

 

[deep]

i always knew you wore the pants.

at the same time?

 

[Billy Rotten]

That woman is gorgeous and of average size.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Sizing is pretty arbitrary. A 6 in one clothing line can vary quite a bit from a 6 in another store. And British sizes don't necessarily match up with US sizing either.

And then there's the whole "Oh, but Marilyn Monroe was a size 12" or whatever the quote is - sizes have changed a lot over the past few decades. There's a lot of "vanity" sizing going on, so women can somehow think they're smaller just because they can fit into a lower number in size.

Good times.

exactly. at least with men's pants, it's all about measuring the width and length in inches/centimeters. so i'd imagine once a guy knows those measurements he can buy pants pretty much anywhere.

 

[BVS]

exactly. at least with men's pants, it's all about measuring the width and length in inches/centimeters. so i'd imagine once a guy knows those measurements he can buy pants pretty much anywhere.

And some jeans put the measurements right there on the outside for the world to see...