"Fat Is Ugly And Unhealthy"

Got your attention, didn't it? 

Got mine, too.   THAT BULLS**T is what I saw at the bottom of my screen here on CC as an "ad".

I am CHOKED.  I don't give a s**t if it is "just an ad", we have no control, blah blah blah. 

I think people struggle enough with *trying* to feel attractive while not necessarily at their perfect weight....without seeing BULLS***T like that to read on a site that they're on TRYING to regain their health. 

I am (normally!) not one to over-react, but COME ON, CC.  Can we not CONTROL garbage like this???!

MY GOD I am mad. 

Wow. I'm glad I didn't see that or my head would have exploded - how harmful!!

(And why is CC suddenly editing language, BTW? It's not like the teens who are on here have never seen the word bullsh!t before. Why is laurie not free to call it like she sees it?)

EDIT: Just looked at the bottom of my screen: "Chinese ladies seeking love and marriage". Yeesh.

At least they're not prominent ads.

I suppose CC needs money to live and to remain free of charge to users. I prefer seeing foreign brides to moral messages about fat though, considering the context.

You should report it in the suggestions and comments forum...then they'll take a look at it and most likely remove the offensive ads.

I'm only parroting back what hk said at one point about a similar ad.

I understand your frustration, I do.  But, I, HK, many of the other mods have said on more than one occassion that the best way to vent about ads you don't like is to let the site admins know.   The team is never anything less than receptive, so there is no reason not to approach them when something makes you this angry. 

That being said, I have contacted them now myself.  :)

Sorry about that - if you see any offensive ads please email me at erik@calorie-count.com with as many details as possible, especially:

1. which site this appeared on (calorie-count.com or caloriecount.about.com)
2. the advertiser's name
3. the ad location

 

Thank you, jenn.  And Erik. 

Hit a nerve, I guess.

I'm now off to have a large glass of beaujolais.

:oD

"Fat Is Ugly And Unhealthy"

Um, well it is.  Otherwise we would not all be here counting calories and such, now would we?

HEALTHY is beautiful.

No, it's not. Excess fat is unhealthy, not all fat.

And "ugly"? Self-hatred is the LAST thing we all need.

The point is, it's a negative message that undermines the self-esteem and self-love required to make a positive change in lifestyle.

If an ad is that powerful and makes one hate oneself, then that person has bigger problems.

And I am sure the ad meant "excess fat" but as someone who did copyrighting believe me that is not as catchy. 

Im pretty sure everyone realizes they are talking about excess fat (no one actually thinks the small amount of fat on a model is ugly or unhealthy).

So, in reguard to excess fat... isnt it ugly and unhealthy?! I dont really find rolls of fat attractive... and know its unhealthy (linked to a variety of health problems, its a fine first indicator of someones activity level or general fitness).

Its not everything that decides how attractive a person is though... so those who do have different levels of excess fat can still be seen as attractive. But, in general, its ugly and unhealthy...

I dont see whats so bad about that? Unless your trying to say you disagree with what they are saying (you think its attractive and healthy? is that why you dont like it?). Or...is it simply something you know is true but dont want to hear / be reminded of?...

I'm thinking that it is the word UGLY which causes the outrage here because it is so damaging and also very subjective! I see the ad designer's idea, it catches the eye and provokes reaction but I do think it is irresponsible of moderators to allow it on this site.

As well as those of us trying to shed the pounds using this site many people are trying to gain them and I have had contact with people recovering from eating disorders. Tell someone struggling to overcome anorexia or bullemia that this is just an ad and not harmful.

I'm glad I've not seen this, gotta get me one of those china brides though.......

You guys should get Mozilla Firefox.

I have never seen a single ad at the bottom or top of my page, and it's got an incredible pop up blocker.  The only ads I see are on the sideline and it's usually 1 ad per page...not too distracting, I can ignore it easily. 

Just want to quickly point out that the moderators here are just volunteers - we all use the site the same as you do - and we have ZERO to do with ad placement or choice.

So, as indicated in posts #2, 3 & 4, contacting the administrators of the site (not the moderators) is the best course of action.

As to the ad itself, it might be worth thinking about advertising like this:

A company with a product to sell may believe that advertising is needed to a) educate the consumer about the pruduct, b) motivate the consumer to choose that product over another, c) convince the consumer that either the quality or value is the best available.

it's part B, motivating the consumer that tends to rankle a lot of people

People are most motivated by two things: fear and sex.

So advertisers often imply messages that play to either your desire for sex or your fears and insecurities.

they may imply that with this (any) product:

• more people will want to have sex with you
• you (or your baby) will be safe from germs
• no one will break into your home
• without this product you are ugly and so you won't find anyone to have sex with you
• without this product you might die

Watch ads on tv -- they're so blatant in how they're appealing to people's fears...  it's kind of funny when you think about what they're really saying - and how ridiculous it is. 

But few companies would come out and call their audience, their hope-to-be customers, ugly.  Only in the weight loss industry would you see that because they KNOW how many messages are already out there feeding women's insecurity about how they look (even when most people think a specific woman looks gorgeous, most likely she will still focus on her "flaws").  So yeah, most of us are here to lose weight, meaning we have fat, and the ad is calling us, by inferrence, ugly.  Also, for those who are trying to gain weight, who have an irrational fear of fat, a message like that is also potentially a trigger that could stop their recovery.

Good call, laurielaurie.

:)

I appreciate your opinion, loriklorik. 

"Unless your trying to say you disagree with what they are saying (you think its attractive and healthy? is that why you dont like it?). Or...is it simply something you know is true but dont want to hear / be reminded of?..."

Wow.  I don't think I'm going to even respond to that in a personal way...nope.  LOL.  (I think people kind of know what I think by my first post, anyways!)  What I *am* going to say is, regardless of how I personally feel, the "Fat is ugly and unhealthy" ad is, from all angles, a very inflammatory & degrading statement.  For ANYONE. 

Parallel it to "People who drink are ugly and unhealthy".  <--- An inflammatory statement, and degrading to those who may drink.  Yet it is a blank condemnation....which is not fair or accurate.  I know many beautiful/handsome drunks.  LOL.

I objected to a) The words used, b) The blanket judgment of all overweight people, and c) The inappropriate selection of having such a degrading statement on a site where people are struggling to FEEL beautiful, and TACKLE their overweight issues.

That's it, that's all.  :oD

But the ad isnt saying "Fat PEOPLE are ugly and unhealthy"...simply that fat is the ugly and unhealthy thing. Your reading too much between the lines and seeing things in the ad that arent there.

It would be like saying "cancer is harmful"... thats not saying people with cancer are bad or harmful, simply that the cancer they have isnt so great.

There is a lot more to a person then their extra fat. People arent fat, people HAVE fat....and that fat they have is "ugly and unhealthy" (though, again, this isnt about the person themselves...simply the fat on them).

"It would be like saying "cancer is harmful"... thats not saying people with cancer are bad or harmful, simply that the cancer they have isnt so great. "-lorilorik

Well, how about you reword that. Say "Cancer is ugly and unhealthy" or "Strokes are ugly and unhealthy", what images pop into your mind when you see that written there? I don't know about you, but I'd strongly take offense to that.

As for the wieght ad, I personally didn't take much offense to it personally, but I can see how it'd piss someone off. In the end, the ad IS calling fat people ugly. Of course, one big difference is its something that can be changed (for most), but still if the wrong person sees it it can be taken a lot of different ways.

That's the fun part about words, it doesn't have to mean the same thing to everyone. And that doesn't nessicarily mean anyone's wrong. Maybe if the person who made the ad could post we'd know his/her intentions (which was probably to have people talking about it). ;)

-EDIT-

For the record, its the word "UGLY" that makes the add worse honestly lol. If it just said unhealthy nobody would bug out about it, but ugly is a strong word.

Original Post by tatjanaturtle:

You guys should get Mozilla Firefox.

I have never seen a single ad at the bottom or top of my page, and it's got an incredible pop up blocker. The only ads I see are on the sideline and it's usually 1 ad per page...not too distracting, I can ignore it easily.

 *lol*

Same here. I went "What ad? There are ads at the bottom of the page? .... Oh." 

Don't for one second think that the people who create and place ads haven't thought about EVERY way their words can be construed.

Billions of dollars are spent in the creation of advertising, studying people's reaction to every thing - colors, words, different kinds of people... you name it.

Yes, they intended the person who saw the ad to feel bad enough about themselves that they would try the product.  That's how advertising works.

Did you report the offensive ad?  Use the Contact Us link to e-mail the administration.  If you can take a screen print of the offending ad, it would be helpful.

Venting is good, but taking action is better.

"Yes, they intended the person who saw the ad to feel bad enough about themselves that they would try the product.  That's how advertising works."

I totally agree. Especially with annoying ads off to the side like that. They'll do anything to draw your eyes lol

I'd just be worried about what an ad like that could do to the population on here that do have eating discorders, or are borderline.  Something like that can unwork the good that some of them have found here and validate the unhealthy way of thinking.  If fat is ugly and unhealthy, if I get to 0% body fat, I will be pretty and healthy.  And 0% body fat is neither pretty nor healthy.