Lush Australia is part of the beauty product company known for using ethically sourced ingredients, hand making their products, and fighting animal testing (Full disclosure: Their Dragon’s Egg bathbombs rock my world and while they’ve never given me free product, I’m still holding out hope!) Recently they wanted to create an ad campaign to speak out against excess packaging They decided that they could also speak out for body positivity in the same ad and this was the result:
Of course people were very excited to see a diversity of bodies represented, Lush agreed to have even more diverse sizes and skin colors in future ads, and everyone lived happily ever after.
Just kidding! Some people insisted that it was pornography and that because it was hanging in a store window, rendering them unable to “shield their children” from it and so they complained to the Advertising Standards Board. The ABS conceded that the ad was not sexually explicit, but ruled that “The full body images and the fact that there are four women rather than an individual meant that the overall impact was increased and was confronting,”
So the ad was removed. Many of the people who asked me to write about this asked if I think people would have complained if the ad was comprised of thin women. Maybe they would have, there’s no way to know. Regardless, I deeply appreciate that Lush created the ad in the first place, and that they continue to stand behind it.
The Director of Lush Australia, Peta Granger, told SmartCompany “All of us who work for Lush were incredibly proud to stand by this campaign and we’ll continue to address excess packaging and promote body positivity with our staff, customers and the public in a similar way…we received a handful of complaints internally, which is pretty tiny compared to the thousands of message of support, praise and ‘likes’ from parents, teachers and retailers — let alone the hundreds of thousands of people who walked past our 39 windows over the three-week campaign.”
Representation of diverse bodies needs to become the rule, not the exception, and I appreciate Lush for being part of the progress.
Activism Opportunity:
If you want to thank Lush you can:
E-mail them: [email protected]
Comment on their Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LushAustralia
The Fat Activism Conference is happening!
This is a virtual conference so you can listen to the talks by phone and/or computer wherever you are. Whether you are looking for support in your personal life with family, friends, healthcare providers etc. or you’re interested in being more public with your activism with blogging, petitions, protest, projects, online activism, or something else, this conference will give you tools and perspectives to support you and your work, and to help you make that work intentionally intersectional and inclusive, so that nobody gets left behind. Click here to get all the info and register!
Like the blog? More Cool Stuff!
Book and Dance Class Sale! I’m on a journey to complete an IRONMAN triathlon, and I’m having a sale on all my books, DVDs, and digital downloads to help pay for it. You get books and dance classes, I get spandex clothes and bike parts. Everybody wins! If you want, you can check it out here!
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Book Me! I’d love to speak to your organization. You can get more information on topics, previous engagements and reviews here or just e-mail me at ragen at danceswithfat dot org!
I’m training for an IRONMAN! You can follow my journey at www.IronFat.com
If you are uncomfortable with my offering things for sale on this site, you are invited to check out this post.
