I long have been sensitive to commercials that prey upon people's fears--which, yes, include pretty much all of them. The ones that indicate that a person's appearance makes them somehow lesser really get to me.
Now there's a new one for Mederma Scar Gel that I dislike. In it, a young woman says--after supposedly using the product--"Now, my personality does all the talking," as if the only thing that anyone would've noticed about her previously was her (presumably fictitious) scar.
I have some indented scarring due to acne and, yes, worry about how long others may seem to study my face. Experience bears out, though, that most of them see me--i.e., my inner-self--more so than they do my scars. Knowing that that's the more common scenario, commercials like Mederma's--and those of just about every acne product out there--are offensive, because they insist that we should worry about how others perceive us, as if we're somehow social outcasts for having the misfortune of having acne in the first place. AARGH!
Somehow, this post turned into more of a vent, rather than something more purposeful. Sorry!
PI
Hear hear, I hate advertising.
Last year I stopped watching TV and I stopped reading mainstream magazines. Made a huge difference to my self-esteem because I was no longer regularly exposed to flashy commercials and unrealistic media beauty standards.
Every once in a while I will pass the TV and see a sitcom or a commercial and I'm shocked at how artificially sleek the humans are. It's something I never noticed when I watched television every day. At the barber shop I'll flip through a magazine and all I can see are people that look like mannequins. Media images aren't normal and once you disassociate yourself from them you are able to see them for what they truly are.
Because I have now detached myself from these kinds of images, I find that I am more appreciative of the beauty of the people in my life. Real people are beautiful but those artificial media images rob us from appreciating this. It makes me sad and angry at the same time.
I was walking through a mall, then I saw this bigass flyer in to on of those proactiv vending machines or whatever. What a horrible way to advertise.
Also, a complete opposite of this flyer exist where it says "oh that's right, you don't have a girlfriend"
WTF? That's awful! 
I was walking through a mall, then I saw this bigass flyer in to on of those proactiv vending machines or whatever. What a horrible way to advertise.
Also, a complete opposite of this flyer exist where it says "oh that's right, you don't have a girlfriend"
What the fuck? This sums up the shit society we live in smh
I was walking through a mall, then I saw this bigass flyer in to on of those proactiv vending machines or whatever. What a horrible way to advertise.
Also, a complete opposite of this flyer exist where it says "oh that's right, you don't have a girlfriend"
That's sick.
O...M...G... I agree: that ad is both sick and awful--and just plain untrue and unnecessary.
According to a quick Google search, we on this forum aren't the only people who're upset about/offended by the Proactiv ad in question.
Deciding to take things a step further, I went to Proactiv's site to complain to their customer service dept. about it. (I'm not sure if my complaint registered, as nothing tells me that it was delivered. So either it's not going through, or some Proactiv employee will find about 25 copies of my complaint by the morning. Heh.)
PI
Deciding to take things a step further, I went to Proactiv's site to complain to their customer service dept. about it. (I'm not sure if my complaint registered, as nothing tells me that it was delivered. So either it's not going through, or some Proactiv employee will find about 25 copies of my complaint by the morning. Heh.)
PI
Great idea. I'll do the same and I hope others also send in a complaint. We shouldn't let such bullsh*t pass without comment.
EDIT: Sorry but could you please post a link to the customer service page? Been searching high and low for where to provide feedback.
God, that proactiv flyer is fucking ridiculously offensive. I'm gonna make the effort to contact them and complain about that too, because that kind of garbage is just totally unnecessary and it's bound to piss off a huge number of people. I'm still shocked that an advertisement like that even exists!
Deciding to take things a step further, I went to Proactiv's site to complain to their customer service dept. about it. (I'm not sure if my complaint registered, as nothing tells me that it was delivered. So either it's not going through, or some Proactiv employee will find about 25 copies of my complaint by the morning. Heh.)
PI
Great idea. I'll do the same and I hope others also send in a complaint. We shouldn't let such bullsh*t pass without comment.
EDIT: Sorry but could you please post a link to the customer service page? Been searching high and low for where to provide feedback.
No problem. This is the page I got to-- http://www.proactiv.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Proactiv-Site/default/CustomerService-ContactUs --though I'm still unsure if it's working properly. I keep getting a message box that says something about the script not running. And, as I already have mentioned, when I tried sending my complaint umpteen-million times, I didn't receive a message telling me that it had been sent/received; so I'm not sure if Proactiv's site is working. That would figure, eh?
No problem. This is the page I got to-- http://www.proactiv.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Proactiv-Site/default/CustomerService-ContactUs --though I'm still unsure if it's working properly. I keep getting a message box that says something about the script not running. And, as I already have mentioned, when I tried sending my complaint umpteen-million times, I didn't receive a message telling me that it had been sent/received; so I'm not sure if Proactiv's site is working. That would figure, eh?
Thanks for the link but I too am having trouble sending in my complaint. It seems that Proactiv's customer service is notoriously awful.
It is unbelievable that Proactiv would do that. I'm going to find a way to write/call them and tell them how offensive it is. Not that I would ever use Proactiv again. It's all a big joke. The net is filled (and not just on this particular forum) with people who all claim that Proactiv did jack shit for their acne. I'm one of them. it's really a terrible system that involves lots of scrubbing and irritating your skin. Dan's regimen is a thousand times better and he doesn't use false/cruel/manipulative advertising campaigns to prey on people.'
edit- I also was unable to submit feedback. How fucking convenient.
I swear, I want to burn that company to the ground.
Don't think this ad really exists.
I still wanna believe that it doesn't exist but it was there, I actually saw it. I was in complete shock on my way home and I had to google the ad to see how people responded upon it.
Anyway, whoever came up with that ad deserves a special place in hell 
So the ad is actually target for girls
But I always see girls with acne and they are always surrounded by guys
Don't worry about Proactiv discriminating against men, there is another advert that says "that's right, you don't have girlfriend."
:
is this a joke? Why aren't people boycotting against this company???
So the ad is actually target for girls
But I always see girls with acne and they are always surrounded by guys
Don't worry about Proactiv discriminating against men, there is another advert that says "that's right, you don't have girlfriend."
:
Exactly. And I bet it doesn't even make acne better anyway! 
