Coggins 1

Parker Coggins
Adam Padgett
English 102- 063
24 March 2016
Annotated Bibliography
Inquiry: Knowing that advertisements can negatively affect female body image, what are
clothing and cosmetic brands doing to help or hinder this issue?
Proposed thesis: Clothing and cosmetic brands need to reevaluate their advertisement techniques
to vamp more realistic and positive ideals instead of creating false beauty images and
a pressure to look good among society.
Brown, Ashley. "Picture [Im]Perfect: Photoshop Redefining Beauty in Cosmetic
Advertisements, Giving False Advertising a Run for The Money." Texas Review Of
Entertainment & Sports Law 16.2 (2015): 87-105. Academic Search Alumni Edition.
Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
This source discusses the use of Photoshop on advertisements and how photo editing has
changed what beauty looks like. The source makes the argument that photographs
manipulated by Photoshop fall under the category of false advertising (Brown). The
source argues that the advent of Photoshop has made a once unattainable image of
beauty and perfect much less a figment of the imagination and much more a tangible
reality, leaving beauty in the hands of its digital creator (Brown). With the technology
of Photoshop, anything can be recreated and manipulated into an image beyond
recognition; this is bombarding our society with false images and a pressure to look like
a perfectly computer perfected image (Brown). Brown argues that the drastic
transformations created through Photoshopping techniques, such as smoothing skin and
erasing wrinkles, enlarging muscles, slimming waists and airbrushing has made it
possible for a below average looking individual appear as a Barbie Girl, in a Barbie
World (Brown). Brown argues that if the technology of Photoshop continues to

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advance, body image issues caused by advertisements will continue to grow because,
such alteration can have drastic consequences on the nave consumer, especially when it
comes to deception in certain types of product advertisements, such as cosmetics [or
clothing] (Brown). I also found this source on the academic search on the library
database by typing in Photoshop in advertisements. This source was published in 2015
and also happens to be a scholarly (peer reviewed) journal which leads me to believe this
journal is credible. I think that throughout most of this journal Brown is stating
information about the use of Photoshop and what this technology allows brands to do to
their advertisements, but he is somewhat bias. He states his opinion about what he thinks
will happen if this photo editing technology continues to flourish. This source is relevant
to my topic because he discusses how photo editing techniques negatively affect societys
body image, especially when used in cosmetic and clothing advertisements, which is
what I plan to focus my essay on. I will most likely use this source as a part of the
background information section to explain how airbrushing, and other similar techniques,
make advertisements that send negative messages. The other main part of my essay will
contain campaigns that brands are starting to combat these described Photoshop
techniques, an example being Aerie and their #aeriereal campaign.
Halliwell, Emma, and Helga Dittmar. "Does Size Matter? The Impact of Model's Body Size On
Women's Body-Focused Anxiety and Advertising Effectiveness." Journal of Social &
Clinical Psychology 23.1 (2004): 104-122. Academic Search Alumni Edition. Web. 28
Feb. 2016.
This journal reflects on the idea that thinness sells, whereas fatness does not
(Halliwell). The authors created a study of their own that tests whether or not the use of
alternative images in advertising such as average sized models, plus sized models, or

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no models at all were effective (Halliwell). The study resulted in the obvious, that
exposure to thin models resulted in greater body- focused anxiety among women who
internalize the thin ideal (Halliwell). Their study results also showed that all of the
advertisements were equally effective, no matter the size of the model. This
effectiveness argument is commonly used to defend the use of thin images in
advertising, but this study proves that the argument is no longer viable (Halliwell).
Throughout this article, the authors are using their study to argue that brands have no
excuse to use extremely thin models on their advertisements and that the advertisement
industry needs to change their approach. I found this article on the academic search on
the library database by searching negative body image in advertisements. Although
this source was published in 2004, the information presented is still very relevant in
todays society. The source falls under the category of a scholarly (peer reviewed)
journal, which leads me to believe that this source is credible. I think there was bias in
this source because the authors were arguing their point of view on this issue (that
advertisements need to change to reflect a more positive body image), but this source is
very relevant to my topic. I am writing my essay on the basis that advertisements do
negatively affect female body image, so I do agree with the biases presented here. I think
this source will work well in my final essay because I want to start by giving background
on the idea of advertisements creating negative body image issues, and then proceed to
explain what certain brands are and are not doing to fix this issue. Therefore, this source
would be good to use in the beginning of my essay.
Jiang, Ming, et al. "The Devil Wears Prada: Advertisements of Luxury Brands Evoke Feelings
Of Social Exclusion." Asian Journal of Social Psychology 17.4 (2014): 245-254.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.

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This source discusses how some clothing advertisements contain luxury goods that
symbolically represent social segregation and exclusion, thereby communicating
superiority, exclusivity and distance (Jiang). This source argues that this separation has
created a false and unattainable hope on how people feel they should live their lives,
which is a societal issue. Some of these unattainable hopes created in these clothing
advertisements leads to body image issues. Within this source it is argued that because
the innate drive to be a part of social relationships has been critical to human survival
since evolutionary history, advertisements generating such false images is only
worsening this pressure to fit in (Jiang). I found this source on the academic search on
the library database from typing in clothing and cosmetic advertisements. It is my third
peer reviewed scholarly journal source; and the source was published recently, in 2014,
which again makes it a credible source. I think this source is somewhat biased because
when analyzing luxury advertisements, the author states his opinion of how this media is
negatively affecting us. I think this source is very relevant to my topic because it
discusses the four principal categories of luxury goods, which are fashion, perfumes and
cosmetics, wine and spirits, and watches and jewelry. Two of these main categories I will
be discussing in my essay: clothing (fashion and cosmetics). This journal would be
another good source to use in the beginning of my essay to give background information
as to why studies show that cosmetic and clothing advertisements create negative body
image issues.
Krupnick, Ellie. "Aerie's Unretouched Ads 'Challenge Supermodel Standards' for Young
Women Aerie's Unretouched Ads 'Challenge Supermodel Standards' for Young
Women." Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., 25 Jan. 2014. Web. 29 Feb.
2016.

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This article is about Aerie, American Eagles sister store for lingerie, and the campaign
they launched in 2014 that features all unairbrushed models. In their press release Aerie
announced that ads are challenging supermodel standards by featuring unretouched
models in their latest collection of bras, undies and apparel (Krupnick). This article
argues that although one ad campaign wont solve the complicated relationship between
young womens self- esteems and images of women in media. But when a brand beloved
by girls shows off its cute bras and undies on bodies with real rolls, line and curves, it can
certainly help (Krupnick). Their slogan for this campaign included the hashtag
#aeriereal and the saying The real you is sexy. When this campaign was first
released, Aerie hung a banner in all of their stores to broadcast their movement. It read:
Dear Aerie Girls, we think its time for a change. We think its time to GET REAL and
THINK REAL. We want every girl to feel good about who they are and what they look
like, inside and out. This means NO MORE RETOUCHING OUR GIRLS AND NO
MORE SUPERMODELS. Why? Because there is no reason to retouch beauty. We think
THE REAL YOU IS SEXY. Xoxo, Aerie I think this source is credible because it came
from a trusted and widely used news outlet. Even though this article was released in
2014, it is relevant because Aerie still participates in this campaign. They have created
new advertisements to support their beauty campaign, such as putting pictures of their
unretouched models on their shopping bags with their hashtag and slogan displayed on
the image. I do not think this article is biased because the author is simply reporting on
Aeries new campaign, she is not reflecting or giving insight on the movement. I think
this article is another great source for my essay because it showcases a brand that
reinvented their advertisement techniques. This could be used in the section of my essay

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where I discuss how some brands are trying to help fix the issue of clothing and cosmetic
advertisements creating body image insecurities. In my final essay, I plan to analyze two
brands that are helping the issue and two brands that are continuing to hinder the issue
being addressed.
Solomon, Natalie. "Sophia Bush Declares War on Urban Outfitters." MTL Blog. MTL Blog, Inc.,
13 Sept. 2013. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.
This article informs us on the issue sparked by Urban Outfitters clothing line in
September 2013. Urban Outfitters is a popular store (mostly for females) that can be
found in most major shopping centers. They released a gray V-neck shirt with the saying
eat less printed on the front of it. Sophia Bush, actress on One Tree Hill television
series, was outraged by the issue and decided to boycott the entire fashion outlet
(Solomon). When Bush was an actress on One Tree Hill, her character named Brooke
Davis was the owner and designer of a clothing line called Clothes Over Bros. One
season, she created a line titled Zero is Not a Size which the producers used in efforts
to promote positive body image awareness to their viewers. Because of this career, Bush
has always been a promoter of healthy body image, so she wrote an open letter to Urban
Outfitters, which spiraled around the internet (Solomon). Sophia stands close to her
belief and assures others that she will not allow Urban Outfitters to make a profit off of
anorexia promoting t-shirts (Solomon). As a part of her boycott, she released a t-shirt
that said Zero is not a size which not only referenced her hit television show, but also
allowed a more positive message to spread throughout the fashion industry. I found this
article on google when I searched for sources about Sophia Bushs campaign against
Urban Outfitters. Although I do not think this website is always credible, I think this
article is acceptable because the author was simply stating the facts of the situation and

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the campaign Bush created. There was some bias presented, because in some parts of the
article there was an agreement tone that came through in the authors writing. Despite the
bias, I am sure that the information relayed in the article was accurate. I think this source
will be good to use in my essay to again relay the answer to my inquiry question on what
certain brands are doing to help or hinder the issue of negative body image.
Swinson, Jo. "False Beauty in Advertising and the Pressure to Look 'Good'" CNN. Turner
Broadcasting System, Inc., 10 Aug. 2011. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
This article is about how cosmetic and clothing advertisements use way too many edits
and airbrush techniques before publishing the final picture. The author argues that all of
this creates a false image of biologically impossible ideals, which causes people to
strive to look like something that is unattainable. The images presented in advertisements
do not express reality, but from a younger and younger age, people are aspiring to these
biologically impossible ideals (Swinson). Today, the pressure to conform to society is
part of what has made the stigma that these altered images actually contain the ultimate
dream of a perfect appearance. To combat this problem, CNN filed a ban on two cosmetic
advertisements from LOreal/ Lancme that sent too strong of a message. They hope that
their efforts have been raising the profile of the body confidence agenda and furthering
the belief that everyone has the right, whatever their size, shape or form, to feel happy
about themselves (Swinson). I found this article on CNN.com, which leads me to
believe that this is also a credible source because CNN is a well-known and trusted news
outlet. Even though this article was published in 2011, this topic is still very relevant in
todays society because photo editing technologies are continuing to advance. I think that
this article is biased because Swinson expresses her feeling that cosmetic and clothing

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advertisements do have a negative impact, and she references the ban that she filed on
two specific advertisements. Even though she shows biases in her writing, Swinson uses
many statistics from studies and various statistics as warrant to her argument. I think this
source is great to use in my final essay because it references the negativity of LOreal/
Lancme cosmetic advertisements. In my essay I wanted to have a few paragraphs
explaining background information: how advertisements are sending negative messages
and creating issues such as body image insecurity. Then the main part of my essay I
would analyze a few brands that are trying to fix this by changing their advertisement
techniques and analyzing a few brands who have negative ads (like the one discussed in
this article). This would allow me to answer the part of my inquiry question that says
what are clothing and cosmetic brands doing to help or hinder this issue?