Why the 'Beach Body' Ad Protests are Stupid

Unless you live under a rock that doesn’t have Wi-Fi, you’ve probably heard the kerfuffle about Protein World’s “beach body” ads.

For everyone who’s protesting these ads, I’ve got a few reasons why I think your crusade is somewhere between misguided and moronic.

Criminality

I completely understand that sometimes property damage and bomb threats are the best way to get your point across (though no examples come to mind at present) but this is not one such instance.

People are actually posting pictures of their vandalism on Twitter, proud of themselves for what they’ve done. Wouldn’t it be funny if they got a letter from the city of London with a hefty fine enclosed?

This is reasonable marketing for the industry

This is the fitness industry we’re talking about here. Of course they’re going to use images of an ideal body to advertise their products.

Hypocrisy

If angry morons are going to vandalize these ads, they’d better be equally vandalizing every ad featuring a man with 6-pack abs. There better be spray paint on every picture of a 6’5” dude with big biceps. Skin care ads where every model—male or female—has perfect skin? That’s skin shaming! Kill their families! Don’t let me see any ads with attractive people driving cars I can’t afford either. Showing Escalades in ads is poverty-shaming because it’s unrealistic. There’s no way I can afford that.

Seriously though, this is the nature of advertising. Show us something great so we want it and will try to get it for ourselves. Pretty much every ad for every product shows an unrealistic ideal. This is the world we live in. Pissed off that you don’t look like the girl in the ad? Sorry. I’d like 6-pack abs and a Cadillac. Guess we can’t have everything.

Misguided rage

It seems that the women who got mad at this ad are angry because it says to them “You’re not attractive.”

Bad news, ladies: some of you aren’t attractive. Not everyone is. I myself don’t claim to be.
The difference is I exercise and eat well to look more like the way I want to instead of shoveling zebra cakes into my face-cavern and sitting around griping on the Internet because an ad reminded me of the effort I can’t be bothered to exert to change my body.

Another point worth mentioning is that this ad wasn’t an attack. For some reason, it’s being treated as one. It didn’t say, “Hey you stupid lard-asses! Why don’t you look like this?” It—like every ad—said, “Want the ideal [body/food/skin/car]? Buy our product and it'll help you get it!” Maybe not an honest sentiment, but advertising is rarely honest.

The company did get rather aggressive in response to being harassed, but I’m fine with that. It’s about time companies stopped crying and sniveling at the feet of Internet whiners.

Ineffectiveness

No one who was offended by the ad was going to buy from that company anyway. The outrage probably didn’t cost them a single customer, but guess what? Their profits have increased since this issue went viral due to the increased exposure. Most people had never heard of this company before this backlash, but now the entire Internet has seen their ads. Good job, angrypants. You just paid for your enemy’s new car.

It’s probably an Escalade.