Advertisers block realistic portrayal of women seeking Plastic Surgery

A move by a group of UK plastic surgery clinics to improve the reputation of plastic surgery through more honest advertising is being blocked by magazines.

The adverts used images of realistically sized women and were distributed to several online magazines. They featured a selection of photographs with close up images of women sporting problem areas such as bingo wings, a ‘muffin’ top and flabby stomachs. However they were rejected by advertisers for not looking perfect enough.

The clinic made the decision as a proactive reaction to Sir Bruce Keogh’’s Plastic Surgery Review, which calls for a number of regulatory measures to ensure that the industry conducts itself ethically. They believed the images represent an honest view of why women may seek surgery.

Their message is unlikely to get across if advertisers stand in their way. Rather than accept the images, the magazines requested new ones with models who were thinner, more tanned and sporting bikinis.

In response the clinic released the following statement: “

“We are trying to respond to the Sir Bruce Keogh Review by using real women with real problems in our promotions rather than celebrity patients but it seems that the publishers cannot move away from the images of Victoria’’s Secret-esque bikini models. What the magazines objected to was posting pictures of models with real problem areas.”

At Aurora, we also support the realistic representation of women and in improving regulation and reputation within the aesthetic medical industry.