So, Rodial are at it again… this time with a body cream called Size Zero. As if Skinny Sticks, Skin Bleach and Boob Job weren’t enough to convince women that nothing about them is acceptable without modifying in some way, Size Zero is pretty much the worst of the lot. This is a brand that is owned and run by a woman for women. What on earth is commendable or laudable about naming your product Size Zero as though that is something we should encourage women to aim for?
It’s pretty well proven that for most women size zero is not a natural or desirable state to be in. Some women are naturally petite and tiny and that’s absolutely fine, but the majority of us will never be that fanciful size zero. Rodial might as well have called it Anorexicream for all the messages that it sends. And, I will guarantee you that no cream in the world will get you to a size zero.
Rodial’s relentless perfection messages are tiresome, but the people I feel really cross with this time are the stockists. What on earth are you thinking supporting this kind of message? It might be a great seller (I am guessing that we will very soon see *join the waiting list* messages (I’d like Rodial to prove that but they won’t due to ‘data protection’) but at what price is your profit this time? It’s almost inevitable there will be a massive write up in The Daily Mail who don’t seem to be able to resist a Rodial story but fail to take on board the implications of selling a cream for £55 to desperate women who think that maybe, just maybe, this is the miracle in a jar they’ve been hoping for. It isn’t. Bottom line of losing weight is eat less food.
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A little story that I have sat on for a long time about Rodial’s sister brand, Nip & Fab. A newspaper published a first-person story about a girl who had used a bust enhancing cream and had gone up half a cup size. Miracles! Her confidence had returned and she was thrilled with the result. When the story ran, I was contacted several times by people who knew that not only was her story of working in a department store not true, but that she had worked at the agency that looked after Nip & Fab (it is not the same agency that look after them now). I contacted the newspaper with a screen shot of the girl’s FB page clearly stating where she worked and her age to let them know that while I couldn’t say whether or not the product had worked I could prove without a doubt (and still can) that she was not who she said she was. They were not at all interested really in whether it was true or not and wouldn’t take the story off the website where it featured. The only reason I didn’t blog it at the time was because the girl involved had her whole career ahead of her and for one mistake I could not be responsible for ruining it for her. As far as I am aware, and this was some time ago, she no longer works in PR.
So, if nobody, from the brand, the press and the retailers particularly cares whether a product does its job, or what kind of message it sends, as long as they get the sales, what does it say about the people selling us these products? If you endorse the message that the proven unhealthy (for most) size zero is what women should be aspiring to then you should hang your heads in shame.
Personally, I would like to see this product off the shelves and a whole reality check going on in the buying departments of the stockists. What the fuck ever are you thinking?
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