A man takes on 'Lovable'

One man's letters to Lovable cut through PR spin

Yesterday we asked our members what they thought of Lovable's ad campaign in light of their policy to 'change the culture surrounding eating disorders and body image.' We questioned how advertising like this can possibly be culture changing.

Many of our supporters wrote to Lovable and received the stock standard response, which was dismissive of the concerns they had raised.

Sydney man David Ould, has taken on Lovable with a letter that highlights the central issues: harm to women, harm to girls and giving men a completely unrealistic view of women, which is ultimately, harmful to men. David wrote, in part:

Dear Lovable,

I’m a married man (almost 10 years) and father of 3 children (including a 6 year old girl who takes in everything she sees around her). I wanted to write to you today about your current advertising campaign featuring Jennifer Hawkins which, I would strongly suggest to you, runs entirely contrary to your stated claim on your website that you are “dedicated to changing the culture surrounding eating disorders and body image … by using happy, healthy models in our campaigns and promotional activities and by continuing to design intimates that are not created to objectify women’s bodies…”

I’ve got to be honest with you. I perceive a complete disconnect between those stated claims and the images of Hawkins that you are using. Specifically you should be aware that use of such images, which portray an almost impossibly “perfect” paradigm of the female body, do damage to three things that I, and I think many other men, hold very dear..........

After Lovable responded to David, he didn't let them off the hook. David wrote back to them:

You write that “[t]he creative was not developed to offend or to “objectify women’s bodies”, but use Lovable’s cheeky tone of voice to demonstrate the new Colour names for our advertised product via fun Props…” Can I ask you a serious question – do you actually think I’m stupid? I don’t mean this in a confrontational way but I had to ask. I ask because the images, (here they are again), are so blatantly sexualised (particularly the first 2, although Jennifer’s “come hither” eyes in the 3rd panel leave little to the imagination either) that only a few possible conclusions are open to me.......

Read David's full letter, Lovable's response and his follow up letter to Lovable here, on Melinda Tankard Reist's blog.

Have you told Lovable what you think yet? Contact them here. Don't forget to let us know what you wrote in the comments section below.