Victoria's Secret rebrands controversial 'Perfect Bodies' campaign following social media backlash
Victoria’s Secret has renamed its ‘Perfect Body’ campaign after the ads came under fire from consumers for marketing an unreasonable level of beauty.
The Victoria Secrets rebrand, and the original ad below
Following a social media backlash, the American lingerie firm buckled and renamed the campaign 'A Body For Every Body'. However, the ad still starred the firm’s original ‘perfect’ body models despite a petition launched on Change.org which has 27,134 supporters requesting an alteration to the campaign and an apology.
It said: “Every day women are bombarded with advertisements aimed at making them feel insecure about their bodies, in the hope that they will spend money on products that will supposedly make them happier and more beautiful.
“All this does is perpetuate low self-esteem among women who are made to feel that their bodies are inadequate and unattractive because they do not fit into a narrow standard of beauty.”
It added: “Victoria’s Secret’s new advertisements play on women's insecurities, and send out a damaging message by positioning the words 'The Perfect Body' across models who have exactly the same, very slim body type.”
Gabriella Kountourides, co-founder of the petition, told the Telegraph: "We’re really happy with the change. I think it’s much more positive but we’d still really like a public apology from Victoria’s Secret and a promise they won’t do more harmful ads.
“The advert is kind of ironic because it says for ‘every body’ and yet it’s just one kind of body. We would love to see them incorporate more girls and bodies, and have everyone there."
Amid the widespread derision, the ad was openly mocked American underwear brand Dear Kate who showed a wider range of body shapes.
We reimagined the @victoriassecret Perfect Body Campaign #iamperfect http://t.co/W192nzt9i1 pic.twitter.com/HKr7uYECs5
— Dear Kate (@dearkates) October 31, 2014
Furthermore, in response, retailer JD Williams launched the #PerfectlyImperfect campaign encouraging woman to share their #FavouriteFlaw.
Tweet us your #FavouriteFlaw to share what you love about yourselves! #PerfectlyImperfect not #PerfectBody pic.twitter.com/TAGGKylh1S
— JD Williams (@JDWFashion) November 3, 2014
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