Online clothing store signs pledge against photo retouching
August 14, 2014 by admin
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No nipping models in at the waist. No Barbie-inspired thigh gaps. No deleting the curves or folds of skin generally found on the bodies of human women.
That is the promise that one retailer has made – becoming the first company to sign its name to a pledge against excessive use of Photoshop in its advertising.
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San Francisco-based online women’s clothing shop ModCloth announced on Wednesday that it is has signed the “Heroes Pledge for Advertisers,” a promise not to “materially change” the images of people in its advertising.
The pledge still allows for erasing flyaways in a hairdo, correcting colours in an image that appear off because of lighting, or eliminating distracting shadows. But signatories promise not to change models’ shape, skin colour or physical proportions, for example.
The pledge was created by the Brave Girls Alliance, a group advocating for changes in the depiction of women in media. It is one example of the rising pressure on advertisers to change their approach to retouching in their ads.
The alliance was also involved in the creation of the Truth in Advertising Act of 2014, a bipartisan bill introduced in U.S. Congress in March. It proposes that the Federal Trade Commission begin regulating the altering of images in ads.
“The advertising industry either ignores, or for whatever reason seems unaware of the harm they’re doing,” said Seth Matlins, a former marketing executive and member of the Brave Girls Alliance, who helped create the bill and the Heroes Pledge. “I don’t think anybody is doing it purposefully. What we have is neglect and complicity.”
The Pledge also dictates that when advertisers do make substantial changes to an image, they should include a “Truth in Advertising” label to disclose it, and avoid running those ads where children under 13 might be exposed to them.
Aside from this kind of external pressure, marketers are also beginning to see the benefits of taking a stance against unrealistic body images. In January, lingerie and loungewear brand Aerie promised not to use Photoshop on the models in its ads or on its website. The response online gave the brand a huge boost of positive publicity.
ModCloth chief marketing officer Nancy Ramamurthi said there was an immediate jump in discussion around the brand on social media on Wednesday, as well as praise for the move.
“People want to purchase from and be associated with a company and a brand that has integrity, that believes in things that are important,” she said.
The company, which was founded in 2002 and has grown to more than $100-million (U.S.) in revenue as of 2012, has always kept its photo retouching to a minimum, she said.
“There’s stuff like flyaway hairs; if there’s a big birthmark on someone’s neck, we cover that up, but there’s nothing to materially change the way a person looks,” she said.
That includes a plus-sized body. “We see that as a benefit, especially for swimwear, because people want to see how the swimsuit actually fits.”
ModCloth and Aerie are relative latecomers compared with Unilever’s Dove, which has made “real beauty” the cornerstone of its marketing for more than a decade. One of its most famous ads, “Evolution,” showed how digital retouching can create an unrealistic beauty standard. Mr. Matlins has called on Dove to sign the Pledge, creating an online petition that has received more than 4,600 signatures. He says he has received no response.
“Dove is committed to inspiring all women and girls to develop a positive relationship with beauty and as a brand with such a powerful message, we are often asked to support third-party pledges,” Rob Candelino, vice-president of marketing at Unilever, said in a statement. “Instead, we are choosing to communicate our position through the work that we do, which to date has helped us reach over 13 million girls with self-esteem programming.”
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Tonight: Sean Bean goes deep for TNT drama ‘Legends’
August 14, 2014 by admin
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Sean Bean is a man of many faces in “Legends,” arriving Wednesday on TNT. He’s an FBI deep cover operative (DCO) who assumes fabricated identities to get close with very bad people (VBP?) and set them up for a fall.
This is a nice change of pace for Bean, cast too often as either the villain in crime dramas or the hero in costume epics (including “Lord of the Rings” and “Game of Thrones”).
But “Legends” doesn’t stray all that far from the mainstream of Bean’s resume. His Martin Odum is a rough-hewn hero, prone to defy authority and disappoint those who care about him. What he loves most is the job.
Based on the book “Legends: A Novel of Dissimulation,” by Robert Littell, the series was developed by Howard Gordon (“24,” “Homeland”), Jeffrey Nachmanoff and Mark Bomback. In undercover speak, we’re told, “legend” is the word for a fabricated identity.
10 ways to die, if you’re Sean Bean
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Before viewers meet Martin Odum, we meet Lincoln Dittmann, with a gun. Scruffy, with gold-framed aviator glasses and a bit of a stutter, Lincoln is a trainee for a group called the Citizens Army of Virginia, which has claimed credit for bombing a federal building in Wichita and killing 57.
When things go wrong, Martin reveals himself. (“Easy, boys. I’m FBI. Covert operations.”) All this, including helicopters and an impressive explosion, takes place before the opening titles.
Like Jack Bauer before him, Martin has troubles of all kinds. His boss (Ali Larter as Crystal McGuire) thinks he’s dangerously unbalanced. His ex-wife (Amber Valletta as Sonya) left him because of his habit of disappearing. (“You can’t just pop back up after being away for months and expect things to be the same.”) He’s constantly disappointing his adorable son, Aiden (Mason Cook).
At work, Martin is considered either the most “naturally gifted deep-cover operative ever,” or someone with a personality disorder. (This sends him to an FBI shrink.)
His troubles go deeper than that, though. In the premiere, Martin (and viewers) learn from a mystery man that he might not be who he thinks he is.
“You don’t know where your legend ends and your life begins,” the man tells him. “There is no Martin Odum.”
Stuff happens that makes Martin unable to dismiss this warning, especially when the mystery man tells him, “You were never supposed to remember.”
This underlying plot, which will drive “Legends,” could actually take away from the series rather than enhancing it. In the early going, the series works best as sort of a modern-day “Mission: Impossible,” and could actually use more of that show’s caper elements.
The DOC team is an interesting one, headed by Steve Harris as director Nelson Gates, with Tina Majorino as the rookie and Morris Chestnut as agent Tony Rice. At their best, as when Martin is about to be executed by terrorists and has to come up with a story, fast, the drama is completely engaging.
(I would like to complain, however, about Larter’s character, the stereotypical bossy female who once had a fling with her colleague and now holds it against him. Inevitably, she winds up in lingerie, giving a lap dance, before the end of the first hour. Is this really necessary?)
“Legends” would work well with mostly stand-alone episodes, but the first two hours suggest a lot of serialization, as Martin tries to solve his own mystery.
“Martin Odum is a man of mystery who has a past that we dig into,” executive producer David Wilcox told TV critics meeting last month in Los Angeles. “It’s sort of a Russian doll of who he really is.”
The mystery includes Martin’s accent, which (when he’s speaking as himself) makes him sound British, like Sean Bean. The pilot’s explanation for that “may be true. It may also not be true,” Wilcox said. (I think I’m speaking for Sean Bean fans when I say: We don’t care. The more he sounds like Sean Bean, the better.)
When you think the first episode of “Legends” is over, it’s not. By the end, we’ve learned to trust no one and that nobody in this show is safe.
The exception, most likely, is Martin, or whoever he is. Bean is famous, dubbed a human spoiler, for dying in so many movies and TV shows. TNT even handed out T-shirts with the line #DontkillSeanBean.
No need to start a death watch here. TNT uses “starring Sean Bean” as a subhead for “Legends.” And although he’ll have close calls, Bean said, “I’m going to be in this for a while.”
‘Legends’
HHH (out of four)
When • 8 p.m. Wednesday
Where • TNT
More info • TNTdrama.com/Legends