you really CAN be too thin

Jezebel recently published the ad from the makers of Pretzel Crisps and people are outraged.

At first I couldn’t put my finger on why this ad bothered me so much. I don’t get worked up about anorexic runway models, or photoshopped magazine images, and yet this ad really got under my skin. Maybe because it’s so blatant. Images of thin models may subconsciously set the standard that thinness should be coveted, but this ad actually spells it out: You can never be too thin.  In other words: You will always be too fat.

The ad is a play on the phrase “You can never be too rich or too thin” which is no longer a credo reserved for the affluent socialites and seen as tongue-in-cheek by the masses. No, this maxim has become as fundamental to the American dream as the white picket fence. And the American dream is turning into a nightmare of depression, debt, and negative body image.

This advertisement further perpetuates the notion that thinness equates to beauty. But when you see images like this:

or like this:

. . .you realize, yes, you really CAN be too thin.

One Jezebel reader commented on the ad’s maxim saying:

Yeah, I tried telling that to my treatment team, as they forced the feeding tube up my nose and down my throat. My anorexic-self wouldn’t have made it past my 21st birthday, according to my physician. Fuck you, pretzel company.

Societal pressures to be skinny, propagated by such advertisements, are forcing women into a damaging relationship with their food and their body. True, not all women are driven to extremes of anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, or binge exercising, but many women have negative self image that is, in itself, physically and psychologically destructive.

Things need to change. It’s about time we talk about beauty. It’s about time we talk about health. It’s about time we talk about being joyful. Let’s empower ourselves and change the mantra “You can never be too rich or too thin” to

You can never be too happy or too healthy

After backlash from the media, the insensitive assholes people of Pretzel Crisps changed their advertisement to this:

Apparently, we have got a hell of a lot of work to do.

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If this ad pisses you off too, you can e-mail the people of Pretzel Crisps at info@pretzelcrisps.com and tell them what you really think.

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