Yes, You Can Be Too Thin

This advertising campaign, by The Snack Factory, was released late this summer. Sure, there are no anorexic-looking models, but the phrase, "You can never be too thin" says more than enough. This controversy shows that you don't even need images to convey a message about thinness. The media knows that there is this quest to be super thin so they take advantage of this insecurity and feed us messages about how to be thinner and thinner. What they don't show in fashion and TV shows is that YES, you can be too thin, and you can die.

I'm glad that this guy "defaced" the advertisement to show that yes, it is dangerous to be too thin, and many people are victims of eating disorders. Many people might argue that they are just words, but if you walked by this on your way to school every day in Manhattan, it would get in your brain without you even realizing it.

The vice president of marketing, Perry Abbenante, defends the company in the following statement:

We hope people noticed what isn’t in the ads: No extra thin, scantily clad female models; No mention of dieting programs, points, etc… Our website and facebook page are all about EATING. We talk about pairing our product in different ways for appetizers. We want people to eat. Our health benefits section details how we can be part of a healthy eating regimen. We in no way advocate unhealthy weight loss or want to promote a bad body image.
We appreciate your feedback and apologize if the ad offended people. We are listening to feedback and making some adjustments to the campaign.

Clearly, he doesn't get it. It's still a statement that means more than the words themselves. The product emphasizes its low calorie size (110 per bag). Why don't we just eat an apple with peanut butter instead of some hyper-processed piece of junk?

Source: http://nyctheblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/pretzel-crisps-pretzel-ads-encourage.html