Running head: MODEL WEIGHT CRISIS
A Crisis Management Plan: Models Weight Crisis
Missouri State University
Janet Jenkins and Erin O’Keefe
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Abstract
This crisis management plan will examine two specific ad campaigns and how the weight
of the models can affect the perception of the targeted audience. This paper will use case study
and narrative paradigm theory to make specific recommendations for organizations facing
similar crisis events. Within this research there will be an in-depth look into how two different
campaigns in the modeling industry use the weight of the models to influence the company’s
targeted audiences.
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3
Model weight crisis:
A case study of Victoria Secret and Dove ad campaigns targeted to women.
“At least 10 million Americans are estimated to suffer from potentially life-threatening
eating disorders, a family of behaviors characterized by an unhealthy relationship with
food, an unhealthy relationship with one's body, and unhealthy weight-regulation
practices. Combined, these illnesses are one of the leading killers of young women in
western nations.” (USnews, 2010)
Eating disorders are some of the most dangerous illnesses for young women in society
today. The news site also reported that approximately 40 percent of American girls ages nine and
ten reported being or having been on a diet to lose weight. Although obesity is a topic that is
often referred to as the most common issue with Americans, eating disorders caused by falsified
ads subject to the American public specifically targeted to women is one crisis that is being
overlooked (USnews, 2010).
The Huffington Post reported on models thoughts and opinions regarding Photoshop
(2012). One of the most famous Victoria’s Secret models, Ms. Erin Heatherton, said, “I feel like
it looks like someone else. I guess it’s not fair. It’s a bittersweet story. You look better, but it’s a
lie.” The article went on to explain these stories are the reason behind many teens taking a stand
against Photoshop and against a distorted perception of true beauty (Adams, 2012). One
company is joining in on this opportunity to change the American public opinion on what real
women look like; Dove has started a new campaign to help fight the battle of distorted and poor
self-image.
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Background
Victoria’s Secret History
Roy Raymond established Victoria’s Secret in San Francisco during the early 1970’s.
The concept was to establish an inviting atmosphere where he could feel comfortable buying his
wife lingerie—similar to that of a Victorian boudoir. Limited Brands, acquired Roy’s Victoria’s
Secret, consisting of three stores and a catalog business, among some controversy, in 1982.
Today, Victoria's Secret lingerie is the top performer for the conglomerate (fragrancex, 2013).
Victoria's Secret, under Limited Brands, has a history of being sexy, youthful and romantic. Men
and women have come to recognize Victoria's Secret as the place to buy a lingerie or perfume
gift. Together, these three vehicles to market combined with Victoria's Secret aggressive
marketing have made Victoria’s Secret the best-known lingerie brand and brought greater
attention to the world of lingerie (lingerie-uncovered, 2013).
Victoria's Secret's phenomenal success has brought much revenue growth but also
controversy. Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows, Victoria’s Secret Catalogs and Victoria’s Secret
models have become more revealing, more voluptuous and more controversial (fragrancex,
2013).
Insert Image 1.
Dove’s History
Dove is a blooming company that has grown from a United States company that only
sold soaps bar into one of Unilever's biggest global brands (unileverusa, 2013). It is now the
world's number one personal cleansing product, and the number three business in the AngloDutch company's portfolio behind Knorr and Lipton. During the 1990’s, the group began to
extend the brand across the complete personal care spectrum, and Dove is now made up of and
MODEL WEIGHT CRISIS
carries a wide range of products from bar soap to shower gel, to deodorants to shampooconditioners (Baskin, 2013). Dove has attracted widespread media attention since 2004 for its
marketing campaign. In 2004, Ogilvy & Mather launched a series of ad campaigns for Dove
portraying the "real beauty" of ordinary women (2013). The brand competes fiercely with
Procter & Gamble's Olay, but has recently been compared to Victoria’s Secret beauty campaign.
Dove has also recently taken a new angle for women’s products introducing a new way of
thinking for the everyday woman. In their new campaign they aim to inspire women to be happy
with the body they have rather than strive for a body that is unrealistic due to editing for product
showcasing (2013).
Insert Image 2.
RQ1: What can be learned from a case analysis of two contemporary ad campaign in the
perception of weight involving models?
Methods
Comparing the two events and their crisis communication management used and what
they learned from their crisis situation. We can observe how the companies and organizations
can learn from a social media crisis aspect. Looking into both crisis events and the crisis
communication management used to handle both situation this research analysis will use a
narrative paradigm theory. This analysis will focus on the specific recommendations that can be
taken from these examples. The narrative paradigm is expressive to the author, or voice, of the
story. “Any construct is only as good as it can be applied and provide convincing and useful
understanding of actual texts, of real experience (Fisher, 1985 p.357).”
A case study analysis is a form of research analysis that researchers can use to study
methodology for many purposes such as ways to explore new areas and issues where little theory
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is available or measurement is unclear, to describe a process or the effects of an event or an
intervention, especially when such events affect many different parties, and to explain a complex
phenomenon (Kohn, 1997).
The method of this paper will take a look into both the advertising campaign of Victoria’s
Secret and the Dove Love Your Body. First, the Victoria’s Secret ad will be reviewed, followed
by the Dove Love Your Body advertisement. According to Bernstein (2013) there are several
steps a company should take while creating a crisis management plan.
The company should first anticipate crises if the company or organization are being
proactive and preparing for crises, gather your Crisis Communications Team for intensive
brainstorming sessions on all the potential crises that could occur at your organization (2013).
Next the company or organization needs to identify the Crisis Communications Team a
small team of senior executives should be identified to serve as the organization's Crisis
Communications Team. Ideally, the organization's CEO will lead the team, with the firm's top
public relations executive and legal counsel as his or her chief advisers. If the in-house PR
executive does not have sufficient crisis communications expertise, he or she may choose to
retain an agency or independent consultant with that specialty. Other team members are typically
the heads of the given major organizational divisions, as any situation that rises to the level of
being a crisis will affect the entire organization. And sometimes, the team also needs to include
those with special knowledge related to the current crisis (2013).
Identify and train the spokespersons categorically, any organization should ensure, via an
appropriate policy and training, that only authorized spokespersons speak for it, and this is
particularly important during a crisis. Each crisis communications team should have people who
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have been pre-screened, and trained, to be the lead and/or backup spokespersons for different
channels of communications.
All organizational spokespersons during a crisis situation must have:

The right skills

The right position

The right training (Bernstein, 2013)
Next the company needs to identify and know the stakeholders. Who are the internal and
external stakeholders that matter to your organization? All stakeholders will be talking about you
to others not on your contact list, so it's up to the company to ensure that they receive the
messages the company would like them to repeat elsewhere.
Develop holding statements while full message development must await the outbreak of an
actual crisis, "holding statements," messages designed for use immediately after a crisis breaks,
can be developed in advance to be used for a wide variety of scenarios to which the organization
is perceived to be vulnerable, based on the assessment you conducted in the beginning of the
crisis. An example of holding statements by a hotel chain with properties hit by a natural
disaster, before the organization headquarters has any hard factual information, might be:

"We have implemented our crisis response plan, which places the highest priority on the
health and safety of our guests and staff."

"Our hearts and minds are with those who are in harm's way, and we hope that they are
well."

"We will be supplying additional information when it is available and posting it on our
website (2013)."
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Assess the crisis situation reacting without adequate information is a classic "shoot first and
ask questions afterwards" situation in which the company could be the primary victim. Assessing
the crisis situation is the first crisis communications step the company can't take in advance. If
they haven't prepared in advance, the reaction will be delayed by the time it takes their in-house
staff or quickly hired consultants to run through all of the previous steps mentioned (2013).
Finalize and adapt the key messages with holding statements available as a starting point, the
Crisis Communications Team must continue developing the crisis-specific messages required for
any given situation. The team already knows, categorically, what type of information its
stakeholders are looking for. What should those stakeholders know about this crisis? Keep it
simple. Have no more than three main messages that go to all stakeholders and, as necessary,
some audience-specific messages for individual groups of stakeholders (2013).
Discussion and Application
In both company’s the advertisement that was shown to the public staisfied their targeted
demographics. The Victoria’s Secert campagin was orginally launched to show the new line of
“sexy” and “comfortable” lingerie. This was a very strong campagin however it also had its draw
backs. The Victoria’s Secert ad campagin was so strong they have continued to be one of the top
selling lingerie stores in the world. Their campagin was more based off the sex appeal having
tall slender tan women who had small waists, large breasts, a flawless face, and gorgeous hair.
The draw backs to the Victoria’s Secert ad where the women used in the add. The women
portrayed an unrealistic image of what women should be. The ad shows the models standing next
to each other, and you can see the outlines of their bones. This ad started a huge debate in society
as to wether or not models where too skinny. The ad also isloated their demographics because to
some women felt the lingerie was only suitable if you looked like the models in the ad.
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The Dove “real beauty” campagin was based as a counter to the Victoria’s Secert lingerie
campagin.This campagin also had its streghtens and weaknesses. The creators of this campagin
were suppose to channel what real women wanted to see in a commerical with women half nude.
The Dove campaign had women in the ads that were more full figured. The ads featured women
who had everyday faces. This ad seemed to prosper from not going over the top for this
campaigns hair and makeup as well. Their campagin was aimed to show that the everyday
natural woman is just as beauitful as the women who were Photoshoped in the Victoria’s Secert
ads.
Victoria’s Secrect’s Crisis Management Plan
There are many things that can be done to help both of of these companies during each of
their crises. Although they are different they can be handled simlarly. Victoria’s Secret needs to
address the public about the weight of their models while the Dove organization needs to address
why they would do such a campaign and then photoshop their pictures and sell products that
contradict their ad. Research has shown the media frame can greatly influence how an individual
understands or experiences a crisis (Hearit & Courtright, 2003; Heath & Millar, 2004).
Everyone who could possibly be tied to Victoria’s Secret weight issue should give a
statement to not only decrease the amount of concern from the public, but to also ensure that the
media understands their viewpoint because without timely information in a crisis, people must
rely on rumors for their information, increasing uncertainty and exacerbating the situation (Veil,
2010). During this particular situation, it would be wise to have the Victoria’s Secret models to
do interviews. It would be ineffective to release statements because that would make the issue
seem more crucial than it is. Interviews will allow the models to give information to the media in
a way that is conversational, which allows them to give out information such as their diet.
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However, such interviews should be prepared for with coaching from a crisis team. The dialog
details strategies and tactics that are designed to minimize damage to the image of the
organization (Fearn-Banks, 2007, 9). Once these interviews are received by the public and they
realize that these models are in good health with their diet the crisis will most likely fade but will
also have the chance of occurring again. After this crisis deflates the organizations should asses
the effectiveness of this plan and make the appropriate changes; learning can not only lessen the
impact of a crisis but also potentially prevent a crisis from occurring. Contentions of this analysis
are detailed and a research agenda to extend mindful learning is outlined (Veil, 2011).
Dove’s Crisis Management Plan
The Dove crisis is more complicated than the one Victoria’s Secret is facing. This beauty
brand put itself back on the map by coming out with its new campaign empowering women and
letting them embrace their natural beauty. However, controversy struck with ads that featured
full figured and ‘normal’ looking women who were photoshoped and promoting products that
contradict what the ad stands for. Although it did hurt the company and make people question
the entire campaign there was not a horrible outcry. This situation still needs to be addressed by
the organization in order to stabilize the relationship with the public. At this point, it is too late to
take preventative actions and the organization must now engage in ‘damage control’ (Delvin,
2007). For this particular situation, the organization could do many things. What may benefit
them the most would be to release the photo unedited and make a statement about true beauty
and admit to their wrong-doing. Once a crisis has been controlled or managed it is then seen as a
post-crisis. This phase is seen as a time to evaluate the situation; what happened, what should
have happened, and what could have been done better. It is also a point in the phases to recoup
any losses and make any changes that were identified as a problem during the crisis (Delvin,
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2007). At this time the Dove organization can evaluate if this response has done enough damage
control or if they need to spend more time mending that relationship with the public and try and
new approach.
Conclusion
Eating disorders are some of the most dangerous illnesses for young women in society
today. The news site also reported that approximately 40 percent of American girls ages nine and
ten reported being or having been on a diet to lose weight. Although obesity is a topic that is
often referred to as the most common issue with Americans, eating disorders caused by falsified
ads subject to the American public specifically targeted to women is one crisis that is being
overlooked (USnews, 2010).
Victoria’s Secret for their new line of lingerie has become increasingly controversial due
to the models used in the ads. The women are tall tan and extremely skinny. This ad has started
a worldwide debate on the weight of supermodels and if is healthy for them to be that skinny.
The beauty supply company Dove started an advertising campaign to counteract the ad
Victoria’s Secret released and to have the opportunity to change the American public opinion on
what real women look like; their new campaign has helped fight the battle of distorted and poor
self-image. However, as they case analysis research paper has shown that the products they are
selling while promoting these ads are for products that are to help women look younger and
tighten cellulite in bodies.
There are several things both company’s should address in their crisis management plan
as stated in the paper. If both companies adhere to the advice and recommendations given in
their crisis management plans they could avoid a public backlash from their ads. Because the
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companies wouldn’t be hiding their faults they would be addressing the issues and talking about
they are going to change and better themselves.
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Image 2
Image 1
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