Georgia has a message for the overweight, and there's nothing sweet about it.A television advertising campaign with a harsh anti-obesity message ("Stop Sugarcoating It, Georgia)" has been receiving criticism, ironically from the overweight stars of the ads themselves.
Model Beth Anne Sacks (pictured at left) says in a New York Times interview that the approach is too negative to inspire overweight people to change people's behavior.
Sacks also calls the ads misleading (some of the ads showed a 'virtual amputation' (via photoshop) of the leg of another model.
“If they think they’re going to reach overweight people with these ads, they’re not going to do it. ~Plus-sized obesity campaign model
"It Has To Be Harsh"
Linda Matzigkeit, vice president of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, defends the campaign's harshness. "If it's not, nobody's going to listen," says Matzigkeit.
Some public health experts do not agree, however, saying the negative approach could be counterproductive when it comes to childhood obesity, pointing out that the commercials and billboards do not give families the tools they need to attack the problem.
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Others say the campaign will further stigmatize obesity and make it even less likely for parents and children to acknowledge that their weight is unhealthy and should be addressed.
What do you think? Do anti-obesity messages need to be harsh to be effective? What is the alternative?
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