Here’s an appropriate use of the figure in advertising! The FX show Nip Tuck advertising campaigns have consistently used the figure in classic poses, but with  one that captures the reality of one of the United State’s largest businesses; plastic surgery. The billion dollar industry operates under the promise of allowing men and women the opportunity to aesthetically reverse time. The shows advertisements give us glimpses into that mentality, showing it from a first person view, but critiquing the industry in the process. The images used in the show’s advertisements build around the social commentary of plastic surgery but stand as commercialized uses of the figure, as well as being reflective of timeless posing.

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In one advertisement the figure dramatically contours her body accentuating the thinness of her waist. Her weight is supported primarily on the operating table as she balances herself on the thighs of her doctors. Another shows an angelic figure, fallen in the desert, her wings cut from her body, suggesting the once angels desire to sacrifice her gift of wings in exchange for proximity to achieving the ultimate standard in human beauty. The third image was taken by David LaChapelle, an artist once found in the pages of Vogue, now producing pieces that could be considered commercially inspired. In this photo we see a the surgeons reproducing Venus de Milo on a live human form. The live model wears swimwear with wavy blond hair and over-sized sunglasses, looking as if removed from a Florida beach. The superficial elements of the subject as an individual are hinted on, but not overtly emphasized.

An angel having just removed her wings through plastic surgery in an effort to achieve the human standard of beauty

Taken by David LaChapelle this photo shows a woman trying to emulate the Venus de Milo in an effort to achieve a greater degree of beauty.

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Other modern users of the nude form are harder to distinguish in terms of what their objectives are. One such advertiser is The United Colors of Benetton who frequently challenges our conceptions of race and social boundaries. More often than not Benetton seems to generate critiques that their advertising is more shock value but the idea that Benetton might be  conveying a social commentary coded in metaphor above our comprehension levels remains.  One of their ads features a Caucasian newborn ready to be nursed by am African American woman, her head out of view. Another features a wall of multiple portraits of men and women’s genitals; imagery that would be more likely to be seen in a gallery than with a commercial advertier. One thing is clear through viewing Benetton’s advertising; that there is a purpose for its symbolic value, even if that reason is strictly to generate sales.

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In our series The Figure in Advertising, we pay attention to those who are currently using the figure in new and interesting ways. With so many interesting uses of the figure occurring in advertising today TGN felt it necessary to take a look at uses of the figure in the recent past.

One of the first to come to mind is Dove in their Real Beauty Campaign. A direct attack on the distorted perceptions of beauty in advertising, Dove’s approach was to use the realism of everyday people to create art over advertising. They photographed and advertised numerous women fully nude, showing what they believed ‘real’ women to look like.  Dove also launched a video, showing the process of remodeling that a person goes through on a photo-shoot. They then created a billboard for foundation makeup ‘Fasel,’ being an anagram for ‘False.’ The end product helped to show how the divinity of the human form stretches further than what we see on magazine pages.

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Dove's signature ad from their first "Real Beauty" campaign

One of Dove's groundbreaking choices of model

One of the most memorable uses of the figure in advertising is by the organization People for the Ethical Treatent of Animals (PETA) with its “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” campaign. Still continued today, PETA recruited prominent social figures such as Christy Turlington and Alicia Silverstone to pose nude under a banner of the campaign slogan.  The dramatic reality of the human form in its most basic state created strong opposition to fur and caught national attention. In this ad, Christy Turlington, who is often photographed in the nude in fashion magazines, uses her body to advance an ethical cause against the use of animal fur, her preference for “naked” over wearing fur in the quotation above her warmly lit torso. Over a twenty year period “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” was able to help reduce the number of fur manufacturer numbers in the US to under 250, about a quarter of their former numbers.

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Christy Turlington's classic pose both honors the figure and raises awareness for PETA

[This is the second Post in our new series on TheGreatNude.tv exploring the use of the Nude Figure in Advertising. Click to view archive.]

Here’s a classic pose of the nude female form as used by The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. One can almost imagine this as an Aphrodite from the Greek artist Praxiteles. This is a perfect example of the use of the figure to project grace and balance – perfection in the eyes of the ancient Greeks. This also projects human dignity and the other aspects of female beauty, which in the case of the advertiser The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, makes perfect sense. This is a strong advertisement, with great art direction.

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The Breast Cancer Research Foundation using a Classic Pose

[This is the first Post in our new series on TheGreatNude.tv exploring the use of the Nude Figure in Advertising. Check back for more posts in several days.]

The cover of Time Out New York‘s recent Museum Issue featured a modern take on the famous statue, Discobolus of Myron. Also known as The Discus Thrower, the original work has been lost but numerous recreations have been made since the original’s creation in 450 B.C. The earliest known copy now sits in the Natural Museum of Rome. Discobolus revivals have altered in medium (the original was done in bronze), size, and in some cases with variations on musculature and facial features. In all of its incarnations, The Discus Thrower is still one of the most recognizable art works in Western History.

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Discobolus of Myron. Also known as The Discus Thrower