Warner Bros. got a bit of flack over the past few weeks for its apparent lack of advertising for Wonder Woman, its first female-led superhero film. Even though later reports suggested its had more advertising dollars behind it than Suicide Squad, the backlash seemed to work... as weve since gotten a slew of TV ads and promotions for Dianas debut. Sadly, some of those promos arent helping.
ThinkThin, a line of protein bars, smoothie mixes, and oatmeal geared toward weight loss and management, recently announced a massive promotional partnership with Wonder Woman. The pairing includes big displays, discounts on tickets, as well as a contest to win a VIP trip to the films premiere. This isnt the only product that Wonder Woman has paired with so far the films also got deals with PinkBerry and Dr. Pepper. But, to be honest, this one was a pretty bad idea.
Before I go into anything else, this isnt about thinkThin or female-focused protein products in general Ive tried thinkThin bars before and theyre not bad. This is about what kind of message Warner Bros. and Wonder Woman are sending by advertising with it.
Marketing has an incredibly unhealthy relationship with female body image. While there have been efforts over the past few years to encourage more body diversity in advertising, theres still a major stigma over weight and appearance. At least nine out of 10 fashion models nowadays are dangerously underweight, and both women and girls are targeted into insecurity for the sake of promoting clothes, lifestyles, or weight-loss products. Its gotten to the point where about half of 3 to 6-year-old girls worry about their weight.
Nowadays, superhero films are geared as much to children as they are to adults. Its why Batman v. Superman was advertised on kids cereal boxes, even though its a pretty violent film. But, we didnt get the Dark Knight on a protein powder commercial, nor was Superman out there promoting protein-enriched Greek Yogurt with a store display. So, what kind of message do girls receive when theyre told that Wonder Woman, their superhero icon, wants them to buy products that literally tell them to think thin?
Wonder Woman is the first female-led superhero film weve gotten in years, and arguably the biggest one to date. It doesnt have a responsibility to be a perfect film, as impossible expectations have been used to discredit movies with female leads. But, I do say it has a responsibility to respect its audience. It clearly looks like theyve tried to market the film to women and girls, especially since they used Supergirls audience engagement as inspiration. But, this is the wrong way to do it. Women and girls dont want to be told they need to think thin in order to be Wonder Woman. They already are Wonder Women.
Still, its not as weird as that Beauty and the Beast banana.
[The Mary Sue]
Link:
I Can't Help but Wonder Why Wonder Woman Is Shilling Weight-Loss Protein Bars - Gizmodo
