The above article talks about a new advertisement that Barney's of New York is planning on doing for the holiday season. The ad features Minnie Mouse who fantasizes about becoming a runway model and is transformed (in her dream) into a 5'7" size 0 in order to "look good" in a designer dress and sport it (along with other beloved classic Disney characters) down the Paris runway.
On one hand, the ad could be seen as an innocent, silly thing considering Minnie is dreaming and most runway models really are that size. It is even mentioned that Minnie's dream sequence only lasts a few seconds, and when she wakes up she is her normal size, still wearing the designer dress. On the other hand, it is buying into this beauty standard that we have in the US that being overly skinny is sexy when, really, it's unhealthy. The creative director for Barney's even admitted that Minnie's standard size didn't look good walking down the runway in the dress, so they decided to change her.
There are already plenty of images that surround us on a daily basis, and the media and advertising do a pretty good job with making us feel inadequate. Using a Disney character makes this all the worse since it is targeting young people and showing them that- even if you are well known and loved by many- you are not pretty enough (ie not good enough) unless you are a size 0. That's unhealthy and unrealistic. These companies really need to think about these effects when they are sitting around their board rooms, discussing ways to make more money. What may seem fun and innocent to them could have long term implications on someone else.
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