Can ad agencies help women love their bodies?

The good news: what is learned can be unlearned.

The magazine Marie Claire recently challenged advertising agencies to create an advertisement that inspired women to love their bodies.

The idea came after a study that found that the average woman only learned to like her body when she was 45, Marie Claire Australia then set leading ad agencies Airborne, DDB Group, M&C Saatchi, OgilvyOne, Publicis Mojo, and Whybin/TBWA the task of designing body-positive pieces.

The striking results can all be viewed here.

The advertisement produced by OgilvyOne, which is especially thought-provoking, features a photo of a baby with the following wording written underneath: ‘She’s Perfect. Until we teach her otherwise.’

‘Flabby arms. Podgy tummy. Double-chin. Puffy eyes. Wispy hair. All the traits we love in her little body, we hate when we see in the mirror. Why?

‘No really, ask yourself why?

‘The truth is body issues are unnatural. They’re learned.

‘We teach them to our daughters, reinforce them with our girlfriends and punish ourselves with them – every day.

‘But there is good news. Because what’s learned can be unlearned. Take the pledge to end the vicious cycle – for her sake and yours.’

Remarking on their work, the creators of the piece said: “You’re not born hating your body, it’s something that you’re taught.

“We wanted to send an optimistic message – that these sorts of learned behaviours can be unlearned.

“It’s just something we need to think differently about.”

These ads form part of Marie Claire’s ‘Why Wait?’ campaign, which readers have been asked to participate in by uploading their photo to the magazine’s Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #WhyWait.