Run For Cover!! Part II

In my last blog I had written about my weakness as well as a lot of other peoples’ obsession for celebrities, what they are doing, where they are going, and how we just cannot seem to get enough of them. I also believe that part of that reason is our own need for escape from the mundane, and that…

In my last blog I had written about my weakness as well as a lot of other peoples’ obsession for celebrities, what they are doing, where they are going, and how we just cannot seem to get enough of them. I also believe that part of that reason is our own need for escape from the mundane and that if able to handle it can be chalked up to what it is… Entertainment.

However, that being said, what happens when you start to idolize people so much in the public eye that you start to pattern you own life after them? How often have you bought a product based on the simple fact that you saw somebody famous using it or endorsing it? Bottled water is bottle water, but when you see that bottled water touch the lips of Johnny Depp we buy it a lot faster and will pay a lot more. Now, when that bottled water becomes the latest size of clothing or the latest diet then we are even more prone to latch on to it.

I guarantee you that most women’s magazines are sold on the sheer fact that the cover, or better yet some “starlet” on the cover, was endorsing something like “how she lost the baby weight,” “what diet she is on,” how she went from a size 6 to a size 1 in 3 days. I can’t throw a rock and not hit something that says, “detox diet of the stars… juice fast to the rich and famous…or workout plan of the Real Housewives.” I also guarantee you that more than most women have also not only bought that magazine because of that, but attempted to go on the diet themselves in hopes it would get them to look like the person endorsing it. The thing is you have to realize that it’s packaging, it’s advertising, and it’s propaganda overload.

Consider this, back in the 1950’s advertisers sat down one day and figured out that if they ran their ads on dish soap, laundry detergent, and Swanson TV dinners during Soap Operas that they would tap into their key marketing audience – Housewives. Toy commercials, cereal commercials, and video game commercials all happen during the morning or early afternoon to target children and teenagers. Beer commercials and car commercials always run during sporting events to target men.

Do you get my theme here? It’s common knowledge that most women in America have body image issues, and advertisers know that we women eat up (no pun intended) anything and everything we can on ways to feel better about ourselves physically. They also figured out that we are suckers for anything and everything on celebrities, so it takes no genius to figure out that by putting those two things together it equals a perfect formula.

The other interesting thing is that while sometimes they glorify celebrities for their incredible physical appearance and super healthy lifestyle, they can turn the tables and bash them. Just the other day there was a whole 4 day spread on “the cellulite of the stars” Each poor actress not only had some unflattering picture of her, but also a highlighted circled area of where her problems areas where… blown up and magnified!!

Again advertisers are striking that curiosity and somewhat “I feel better about myself, because someone else is worse off than me” trait. We tend to buy as many of those covers to not feel so bad about ourselves when we look in the mirror.

In all honesty it’s quite ridiculous, and if you think about how we spend half the time trying to look perfect like celebrities, and then the other half taking glory in the fact that they are not.

My question is when was the last time you bought a magazine on “the environment”, or “gardening” or on “self empowerment?”

Not only that, think about how much money we are spending on magazines based on their superficiality. With the average issue costing about 5 dollars that can add up.

All that being said, I invite you and also challenge you to do what I did:

For one month I didn’t buy any of them. No matter how tempted I was, or how curious I was about who was on the cover, what they were eating, or what they looked like in their Tuesday panties on the beach on a Wednesday afternoon, I abstained.

After a while, I didn’t care so much. I began to actually take humor in them, because I could see how somebody could be in the spotlight one week and at the bottom of the trenches the next. I started to focus more on my own life, and what I could do for myself to help better who I was on the inside. I read books, I took walks, and I hung out with people who made me happy. I started to see the bigger picture, that the world is full of magnificence, nature, experiences, and substance.

It certainly gave me perspective on what I truly value in my life and it boils down to that I couldn’t find it on any sort of magazine cover or article inside. I saved a bunch of money too, so I can put it towards something nice for myself, like a facial or a massage.

I definitely do buy those magazines sometimes, but only one at a time. I also gravitate more to ones that have powerful, inspirational women on their covers. I enjoy the ones more that offer articles on how to better myself as a career woman or ones that help me find some peace of mind in today’s busy and crazy world.

Remember nobody is perfect and Beauty honestly comes from within your heart and your soul and your mind.

When they can put all that on a magazine cover someday, I will be very impressed!!!