Special K Wants You To Stop Doing This

Women need to lose the fat talk, says a new Special K ad. In their new campaign, the cereal company invited women to shop in a clothing store where the merchandise was interspersed with fat-talk quotes printed on labels and signs. The quotes, which include "Cellulite is in my DNA" and "I look fat in this," reflect what many women frequently tell themselves. When the women see the phrases, many react with shock, realizing that by using fat talk they are actually "bullying" themselves.

"These are things I've said," exclaims one woman. "[We need to be] reversing the fat talk," says another. "Making it positive talk."

According to Special K, 93 percent of women engage in fat talk. "We believe that fat talk is a barrier to managing our weight and, when so many women are doing it, we're all further from reaching our goals," explains Special K on their website FightFatTalk.com.

Special K's ad has a great message, but we'd do well to remember where it's coming from. The company's past advertising campaigns have pretty much all centered on weight loss — or, as they call it, "weight management" — and featured invariably thin models. This newest ad is just part of their wider marketing aim, echoed in their never-ending efforts to get women to take the Special K challenge.