Zulu’s Message to the Fashion Industry
Toronto’s Zulu Alpha Kilo have taken on the beauty industry alongside their client NEDIC in a multi-faceted campaign. Aimed at opening up the eyes of fashion advertisers and magazines about the realities of eating disorders as a result (directly or indirectly) of the borderline ridiculous expectations placed on models, it’s certainly managed to attract a fair amount of attention to the cause.
Executions included a “thank you” card carrying the message “thank you for helping to make me such a successful anorexic”, followed by an interactive “shed your weight problem here” transit poster, size negative 8 t-shirts and an online petition. The campaign has so far been met with some success, as Zulu’s President and Creative Director Zak Mroueh attests.
“The campaign just broke a few weeks ago, but already it’s gaining a ton of traction. The story has been picked up as far away as Japan and the UK. It has started a conversation online.”
“Our objective was to get advertisers and marketers to be more accountable. And this is just the beginning. It’s amazing that with a few select, carefully targeted pieces and a PR push, we’ve been able to get people talking about the issue. So far, over 400 people have signed the pledge.”
The recap video produced by Zulu is embedded below.
I worked as an associate art director for Shape Magazine in the 90′s when it was owned by Weider. Although we didn’t use the incisive phrase ‘Cast responsibly, edit minimally’ it embodied the thoughtful choices made when casting models and retouching. With a (mostly female) editorial staff that truly cared about women’s health, including body image, the team acted consciously when booking every model. Avoiding the too thin and obviously modified options available, efforts were concentrated on finding the right combination of beauty, ‘relate-ability’ and a healthy BMI. As a woman that falls into the 50% that have dieted, I look back on my time at Shape with pride and the knowledge that ‘it can be done’ if the right leadership is in place. Kudos to Zulu and NEDIC on their efforts. I hope they are careful to review each magazine first and to send these smart ‘thank you’ cards to the many magazines that need to receive them, as well as heartfelt ones to the principled few that deserve praise. NEDIC’s praise could go a long way to influence advertisers opinions and further support from the top down. Wouldn’t it be nice to hit a point where most advertisers reject the concept of placing an ad in a specific magazine because the models used are too thin?