In yet another display of advertising double standards, Lane Bryant’s ads for their plus-sized lingerie were not allowed to air during ABC’s “Family Hour” at 8:00, while Victoria Secret’s was allowed to advertise during the same time using one of their models.After the controversy raged on the Internet and TV for some time, ABC relented somewhat, but only after edits were made to the original Lane Bryant advertisements.

In response to ABC and Victoria's Secret, Lane Bryant has just created a new mock ad for Victoria's Secret- the models used in the ads are actual skeletons. I love it!


In each of the store’s first advertisements, the models were showing cleavage- the notable difference being of course, that the Lane Bryant model ( Ahsley Graham who also appeared on the Tonight Show) was more amply endowed than the Victoria's Secret model.

The reality in the United States is that more women are in the actual size range of the Lane Bryant model than the Victoria's Secret model. The average size of a Victoria Secret’s model is between 2-4, which does not reflect a large portion of society. Lane Bryant, on the other hand, specializes in plus-sized clothing for women in the 14-24 sized range.

Not allowing Lane Bryant to advertise during the so-called “Family Hour” takes away the retail chain’s opportunity to advertise to their potential customers, many of whom are moms that more than likely would be likely to watch TV at 8:00. 

The argument (seen here on the Bill O’Reilly Show) that the men of America can’t handle the raciness of “more cleavage” is specious at best. Is ABC really that scared of showing a differently proportioned woman as sexy during the “Family Hour”? Or are men so turned on by a slightly larger woman with bigger breasts that it will destroy them? Will the children really be all that adversely affected if they see an actual woman’s cleavage on TV? In this day and age, I highly doubt it.

Don’t women of all sizes need to see women of different shapes and sizes pictured in sexy manners in order to understand that the beauty standards set by the media and the advertising industry are false?