Body Positivity Ads Work...But Not How You Think

Body positive food and beauty ads may ring hollow, but they're apparently quite effective advertising. A new report found Special K''s "fight fat talk" ads did indeed succeed... in making more women think they should buy Special K. The "fat talk" ads ostensibly campaign against the negative self-talk many women do when it comes to their bodies. "You wouldn’t talk this way to anyone else…so why do it to yourself?” the commercials ask.

Tyra Banks is a spokeswoman for the fat talk campaign. "We women speak about our bodies in such a negative way — crazy negative I call it," said Banks in a recent interview. “Women look at themselves and ‘My thighs are so fat, they’re so disgusting, I want to vomit’, and these women wouldn’t even say that to their own enemy."

Self-acceptance has long been a theme of Tyra’s. The message seems a bit more disingenuous coming from a brand whose primary marketing campaign for the past decade has centered on encouraging women to lose weight on diet that’s mostly cereal.

But you know — feminism sells! Since the fat talk campaign launched two months ago, Special K's "purchase consideration score" has spiked. When asked recently if they would consider buying Special K for their next cereal purchase, 40 percent of 18- to 34-year-old women said yes, according to Business Insider. This is up from 31 percent in early December. It's also 9 percent higher than the average score for Special K's competitors, up from 4 percent in early December.

Image: Special K/Facebook