Ok… So I walked through the room while Stephanie was watching the news and a commercial for Dupixent was on. Basically it’s a bunch of kids being embarrassed by their eczema and happy that there’s a treatment that helps so they’re not embarassed at the pool, a ballet recital or a concert.
Conceptually, I get the commercial. And I appreciate it. I had eczema problems as a kid…and it can really fuck with your self-esteem. So yeah. This is awesome.
That said… did NO ONE in the room at the advertising firm that came up with this commercial…. from concept to copy writing to casting to directing to release… double think this? Not one person stopped and said “hey, maybe we don’t want to do a commercial with two pubescent boys and two pubsecent girls stripping off their clothes and saying they were proud to show their skin?”
I get that “Hide my skin? Not me!” is their slogan, but seriously… not one person along the way said “hey, maybe this plays a little different when we focus the commerical on kids rather than adults cuz it really sorta feels like we’ve go a bunch of 12 year olds saying ‘hey! look at my tits!’ and maybe could we not?”
How did that not happen?
This can’t just be me.
Yeees!
Focus group? I would think they might have tested the premise and presentation.
What is there new under the sun?
By making it “tweener” specific, they may have felt like they were stripping impropriety from the concept and highlighting innocence over self consciousness?
Coming up with ways to address the solution which is treatment without declaring the symptoms an issue that warrants intervention is challenging.
Nah, as a parent of a teen (and the actual target audience of this ad) I think it’s fine. Parents want their kids to be proud of their bodies and comfortable in their skin, and it’s acutely painful to see your kid experience shame and want to hide who they are. That reveal moment where they confidently take off a jacket feels like a knot undoing in your chest. Honestly if you see that as sexual, I’d take a moment to think about whether you’ve spent too much time immersed in a media culture that sexualizes children’s bodies, and the extent to which that’s distorting reality.
Have you seen the new Dupixent commercial where the cute innocent ballerina is now a full fledged 12 year old stripper? Maybe you should open your eyes more often.
😆
The newest ad is almost like Jeffrey Epstein filmed it