This has been begging for a post for quite some time now.

So, in keeping with this week’s theme of the media’s mixed messages on body image, I thought it might be worthwhile to at least mention the absurdity of this horrifically ill-conceived campaign by Victoria’s Secret:

Not, of course, that your body looks anything like these bodies. Who cares. You should love it anyway.

But only if you put down that cookie and get your fat ass off to the gym!

This campaign doesn’t even pretend to care that 90 percent of the women viewing it look nothing like these scrawny supermodels. Nor does it seem to take into account the fact that, when attempting to hock a new line of bras that are supposed to fit all body types, it might behoove them to toss in one or two women who don’t resemble preying mantises.

Now, I could be wrong about this, but it has always been my understanding that the whole point of an ad campaign is to make the consumer feel good about going out and spending their hard-earned cash on something they probably don’t even need. Other Victoria’s Secret ads work because they’re selling women a fantasy: “Buy our underwear,” they seem to say, “and you’ll look like these hot chicks.” But this one makes the mistake of trying to be “real” by addressing the issue of body image, while attempting to keep on feeding us that same old fantasy line. And it just doesn’t work.

In fact, for me (and most other women I know) this ad only succeeds in accomplishing the following:

1. making me hate my body
2. making me switch channels or turn off the TV
3. making me vow never to buy another piece of lingerie from Victoria’s Secret

So, although I hate the phrase and can’t believe I am about to type it, this ad leaves me no choice . . .

Epic Fail, V.S.

Epic Underwear Fail.