Skinny Water and Bad Advertising

       Skinny water is a drink enhanced with ingredients that can help maximize weight loss when combined with a steady diet and daily exercise. It's said to help control sugar cravings as well. Skinny water comes in bright colors, looks tasty and seems to be a healthier vitamin water, but it's advertisement is sending out the wrong message. Skinny Water's advertisement portrays four tall, slender women with skinny legs, tiny waists, fashionable outfits, and a confident posture. In front of the women is eight different brightly colored bottles of Skinny Water with the message, "Strut your Skinny" and "Skinny Water: 0 calories, 0 sugar, 0 sodium, and 0 guilt". This advertisement is sending out the idea that eating unhealthy or drinking things with sugar should make you feel guilty, so the only way to feel good about yourself is to drink this brand and be thin. It also portrays that being skinny is the best way to live and that this water alone can get you that body (because the advertisement doesn't mention anything about the process it requires and the diet/exercise factors).
       The advertisement is extremely biased because the models are all young caucasian women. This is who the product is aimed at because young women will see this and wish to look like the girls in the advertisement and they might be encouraged to buy the Skinny Water. This message is negative and goes against the goals of today's society. Eating disorders are a major problem in todays world and at least 30 million people of all ages and genders are suffering from an eating disorder in the United States. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness and every 62 minutes, at least one person dies from the direct result of an eating disorder. The Skinny Water Campaign indirectly encourages people to eat less and drink more of their product if they want to achieve that skinny body to strut around. This advertisement also adds to the unfortunate expectations in society. Many young people of all genders face the issue of body image and self-confidence. This is one of the biggest struggles for teenagers and young adults and to help dismiss it, we should be encouraging all people to accept themselves and appreciate their unique bodies. Instead, Skinny Water makes people feel like they need to be slim to fit in and they need to consume very few calories, sugar, and sodium to be guilt-free.
       The Skinny Water advertisement meets the viewers physiological needs. This enhanced drink is described to be a necessity to life and like you can't live a happy life or lose any weight without it. This attracts the consumer because they want to meet these goals so they buy the product. The campaign uses the technique of Glittering Generalities with the words "skinny" and "0 guilt" to help sell the product. The viewer sees these and immediately wants to feel that way, so they're drawn in to the product and they become absorbed in this unhealthy lifestyle. Skinny Water also uses the Simple Solutions technique because the advertisement doesn't mention that the drink won't make you skinny unless you also exercise and eat healthy. It makes it seem as though something as simple as purchasing the product will give you that skinny body you desire. Lastly, the technique of Transfer Association was used, but it had more of a negative impact. Skinny Water intended to have the word "skinny" be associated with their product so whenever people thought of that body image they wanted to achieve, they'd think of Skinny Water. However, this has a negative connotation because it reinforces the unhealthy expectations and lifestyles that society is trying to move away from. Skinny Water's campaign draws attention, but it has a negative message that shouldn't be reminded throughout the world in advertising.