So recently, Facebook user Jessica Fantini posted a very, very old Body Shop advert to her wall, with this caption: “This was an ad made by bodyshop. But Barbie INC. found out about it and now it’s banned. Repost if you think this ad deserves to be seen.” Whilst I think the ad is a good one, it’s also an old one. Around 14 years old, in fact. For those of us who remember the 90s, a time before the Body Shop was sold - and let’s remember that L’oreal loves it when you freak out about your appearance and buy lots and lots of anti-aging cream - we undoubtedly also remember the decade of the ‘Supermodel’. This small number of very powerful models, who were so world-famous we only needed to use their first names, were in high demand across the fashion world, and women aspired to be as beautiful and glamorous as these women.So we undoubtedly all remember the huge ‘real women’ campaign pumped out by The Body Shop, featuring ‘Ruby’ the doll. We probably also remember that Matell (not ‘Barbie INC’) sent The Body Shop a cease and desist letter, but nothing much came of it, the campaign was a huge success and was seen by millions; on the pages of fashion magazines and in the windows of Body Shop retail outlets. So why then, has Jessica taken it upon herself to start up this viral campaign of misinformation? I’m sure it was a simple mistake - perhaps she read an old article and forgot that it was actually the year 2011 now. At any rate, I am seeing plenty of women sharing the image on Facebook. It’s gone viral, misinformed caption and all. Aside from a growing number of my friends, I’ve also seen political parties sharing the image, and I’ve seen people posting it on official Body Shop Facebook pages. So if you see it, by all means appreciate it, appreciate the other Ruby images while you are at it, but perhaps think twice before telling all of your Facebook friends that Barbie INC saw this and now it is banned. 

So recently, Facebook user Jessica Fantini posted a very, very old Body Shop advert to her wall, with this caption:

“This was an ad made by bodyshop. But Barbie INC. found out about it and now it’s banned. Repost if you think this ad deserves to be seen.”

Whilst I think the ad is a good one, it’s also an old one. Around 14 years old, in fact. For those of us who remember the 90s, a time before the Body Shop was sold - and let’s remember that L’oreal loves it when you freak out about your appearance and buy lots and lots of anti-aging cream - we undoubtedly also remember the decade of the ‘Supermodel’. This small number of very powerful models, who were so world-famous we only needed to use their first names, were in high demand across the fashion world, and women aspired to be as beautiful and glamorous as these women.

So we undoubtedly all remember the huge ‘real women’ campaign pumped out by The Body Shop, featuring ‘Ruby’ the doll. We probably also remember that Matell (not ‘Barbie INC’) sent The Body Shop a cease and desist letter, but nothing much came of it, the campaign was a huge success and was seen by millions; on the pages of fashion magazines and in the windows of Body Shop retail outlets.

So why then, has Jessica taken it upon herself to start up this viral campaign of misinformation? I’m sure it was a simple mistake - perhaps she read an old article and forgot that it was actually the year 2011 now. At any rate, I am seeing plenty of women sharing the image on Facebook. It’s gone viral, misinformed caption and all. Aside from a growing number of my friends, I’ve also seen political parties sharing the image, and I’ve seen people posting it on official Body Shop Facebook pages.

So if you see it, by all means appreciate it, appreciate the other Ruby images while you are at it, but perhaps think twice before telling all of your Facebook friends that Barbie INC saw this and now it is banned.