A Welcome Type of Advertising

In previous posts, I have written about how advertisers target insecurities in order to sell their products. If advertisements are not making mothers feel guilty, then they're making women feel fat, old and otherwise unappealing.

Well, recently I came across just the opposite--an advertisement for an ice cream store that made me feel great about not being rail thin and 20 years old. What's surprising is that I have walked past this ice cream store thousands of times without ever seeing the sign.

My husband and I decided to meet up here with our two kids. I knew that the gelato and sorbets were expensive but made from natural ingredients, so I relented. When I took a look at the flavours, I was mesmerized. They were all so appealing. I felt like a kid again....The final decision--espresso and chai Masala, and they were heavenly! So heavenly, in fact, that I decided on seconds. Now, I can see you all cringing, but eat your heart out! THE SECOND WAS EVEN BETTER THAN THE FIRST! Grapefruit sorbet and coconut gelato! Thanks for asking.

I did, however, explain to the owner that I was slightly embarrassed to be bellying up to the counter a second time, and she said, "I chose my sign for a reason."

I looked up to see a picture of a woman who was neither thin nor young, but unique, happy and elegantly dressed. Oh yeah, she's also wagging her finger to show her indifference to the weight scale at her feet.

The name of the ice cream store is "Plus que Parfait," which translates into "More than Perfect." It's up to you to decide whether the more refers to your weight or just how freakin' great you are.

I've been back since...

Related posts:
Gold Standard of Beauty: Targetting Insecurities
In Response to Impossible Beauty Standards
More Impossible Beauty Standards

3 comments:

John-Ward Leighton | August 28, 2009 at 5:33 PM

Here in Vancouver there used to be a gelato cafe, the only one on Denman street called Mom's that had a grumpy old Italian guy who made the ice cream and his beautiful daughters who served it. It was before the rash of Starbucks and other coffee joints appeared and along with the wonderful ice cream it was the best place to get a latte or a capo or just a plain decent cup of coffee. During the summer the line up was out the door and down the street.

Flash forward twenty five years and there are a rash of phony Gelato shops and the afore mentioned Coffee joints with their BS coffee language for ordering their inferior product on Denman Street. Now the only refuge on the street is Delanys which is jammed every day from six in the morning to ten in the evening. Expensive but they do it right.

DAD

Anonymous | August 28, 2009 at 7:34 PM

Hey, Heather. I only found out you had a blog a couple of weeks ago, so I decided to check it out, and now I'm hooked! Excellent writing, excellent topics, and most importantly, you know how to spell! (Well, I knew you did, of course, but it's so refreshing to be able to read a blog post without cringing at "definately" or some other howler of the sort).
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know how much I'm enjoying your blog - great work!

Maryann

Heather | August 28, 2009 at 8:22 PM

Thanks for stoppin' by M!

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