tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349274489320343637.post648406994007028540..comments2023-03-26T05:46:01.356-07:00Comments on Women in the Media: Media Moment -- "Losing Weight Like A Man"Sam Federhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07526776423792966430noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349274489320343637.post-70627077327137802092012-02-01T11:21:54.280-08:002012-02-01T11:21:54.280-08:00Does anybody find it weird that there has to be a ...Does anybody find it weird that there has to be a whole new campaign though to dissociate Weight Watchers from the idea of the feminine or "women only" bias?<br /><br />Why aren't there simple statistics used, that are easily attained through health professionals or fitness studies? As a field that lends itself to science, is it necessary to embellish the gender differences when more empirical evidence is available?<br /><br />Speaking from an entertainment perspective -- of course. People want to see this difference, and have faces and genders and other identifiable traits placed onto a campaign because people are naturally easier to empathize with than graphs.<br /><br />Although to simply say "Lose Weight Like a Man" versus "Lose Weight Like a Responsible and Healthy Person" is a clear marketing trick, but also a misnomer. While there are differences biologically in how men and women lose weight and shape up, it is still a ubiquitous concept that is not considered through such a campaign, and instead focuses on micro issues like "can I still eat meatballs?"<br /><br />So I give this campaign a pass for being media savvy and effective in that way, although the gravity of what obesity is and how it affects everyone is lost.<br /><br />But whatever gets people signed up is fine, right?Jesse Convertinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16862690713491969224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349274489320343637.post-76674655402989069572012-02-01T10:12:44.694-08:002012-02-01T10:12:44.694-08:00The first thing I thought when I saw this ad was, ...The first thing I thought when I saw this ad was, "You can't be serious!"with a good chuckle. Weight Watchers, probably since it's birth, has been targeted towards women- never, until now, had there been an ad for guys. With that being said, I don't think this campaign message asserts that taking care of yourself is "womanly"at all- it's socially acceptable for a man to do just that except they'd be using different methods (pumping iron, drinking protein shakes etc). Very rarely do we hear men dieting or watching their calorie intake.<br /><br />What I do think this ad is trying to do is simply incorporate a new target audience. They definitely did a good job on the spokesperson seeing as Barkley is a well-known basketball player who speaks his mind and is known for having one too many burgers and tacos. I still think however, the stigma about Weight Watchers being a "woman-only" dieting program will take a lot more than just Barkley and their "Losing Weight like a Man" slogan.Joanna-MarieBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15030871840796015139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349274489320343637.post-22947793095358223332012-02-01T10:09:46.981-08:002012-02-01T10:09:46.981-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Joanna-MarieBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15030871840796015139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349274489320343637.post-20403758807585397662012-01-31T18:25:37.081-08:002012-01-31T18:25:37.081-08:00Hello.
I understand where you are coming from on ...Hello.<br /><br />I understand where you are coming from on the gender point, but if you consider all the other Weight watchers commercials they are all geared toward one gender as well. It was not until recently that the commercials began mixing genders in their commercials and even still it is heavily biased to women. I believe the add was created because there are many men that need to get in shape as well as women,even though society puts less pressure on men. I think the commercial was meant to encourage men who do not enjoy working out to at least eat healthy. However, I do agree they went about it in the wrong way. "Lose weight like a man" may be catchy but it buys into the stereo type of all men acting one way-the arrogant and macho way. Also, even though men feel that they need their own program they really don't, it all plays into the stereo type of what men should be like and what they are "entitled" to.mschlenvogthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05421359632527608727noreply@blogger.com