It has been hard to miss the new Diet Coke “Love it Light” ads gracing the bus stops of Sydney over the summer- which feature lollipop headed, stick thin dolls explaining the benefits of Diet Coke in a language that any girl can understand- by comparing it to shopping of course!
Other pearls of wisdom include;
“Three little words every girls wants to hear: Its. On. Sale.” and
“Shoes on sale- get ‘em! Shoes not on sale-get ‘em anyway!”
The agency’s attempt to create a sassy, fashion savvy, modern girl are so clichéd they have us wondering- is this supposed to be a joke? Worryingly, its all too real.
Aside from these ads being insulting and demeaning- suggesting that the female brain does not need to concern itself with anything more complex than calculating how much 30% off is, they are also dangerously effective.
They constantly remind women of the need to buy clothes, and necessarily, the need for women to look good in clothes. They play on female insecurities to encourage us to consume Diet Coke (and not much else) in order to attain perfect, model bodies- like the dolls portrayed.
Another worrying aspect of these vacuous ads is their potential appeal to young girls. The dolls are extremely similar to popular Bratz Dolls, and with their unattainable body type and preoccupation with being thin, they may encourage younger and younger girls to become worried about dieting and weight gain.
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