Megababes Ashley Graham and Precious Lee are slaying runways, magazines, and TED talks, not to mention the internet, with their unapologetic approach to body-confidence. But one place they can’t seem to subvert the unfortunate status quo is on major network television. The Lane Bryant lingerie advertisement that the women recently shot for the brand’s spring 2016 ad has been now rejected by major television networks ABC and NBC, who deemed the TV spot “indecent” for viewers’ eyes.
The campaign for #ThisBody features Graham and Lee’s bodies in various lingerie sets and states of undress, while another model is shown breastfeeding her baby as she says, “This body is made for love.” NBC has denied that they “rejected” the empowering visual for any reason other than decency. “As part of the normal advertising standards process, we reviewed a rough cut of the ad and asked for minor edits to comply with broadcast indecency guidelines,” NBC said in a statement provided to the Daily News. “The ad was not rejected and we welcome the updated creative.” Lane Bryant, however, claimed the ad was outright rejected “as is.”
Regardless of the details — it’s not like Lane Bryant would have tried to submit anything with full-on nudity — this is a heavy blow to the body confidence movement. Advertising approaches “decent” (i.e. slender) women’s bodies like they’re iPads or exciting new flavors of string cheese, degrading them to the status of mere objects and selling them to an audience of millions. ABC has been particularly hungry for Victoria’s Secret content, which doesn’t show any more skin than Graham and Lee’s Lane Bryant commercial. Graham is well aware of this hypocrisy, telling CBS in 2010 — when her last commercial was censored — “Victoria’s Secret commercials are airing all throughout the day, but when it comes to a Lane Bryant commercial, we have a little bit of extra, you know, overflowing, and then everybody freaks out.”
Further, while television ads featuring half-naked women commonly test the boundaries of “indecency,” Graham’s latest ad was never meant to head-on tackle size diversity. It’s simply “a playful way to engage our women and all women,” according to a rep for Lane Bryant. Watch Graham’s solo spot for the new campaign below.
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Text Hannah Ongley
Image via YouTube