A local fashion chain for teen girls is set to launch a new campaign featuring the recognisable face of Russian model Natalia Vodianova, the latest in a list of international celebrities that the is brand is known for having as endorsers- Alicia Silverstone, Natalie Portman, Petra Nemcova and Kate Hudson to name some. (Cue another slew of indignant ‘patriots’ questioning and demanding reasons why the brand doesn’t use a Filipina endorser.)

Pretty.. I like how light, airy and fresh it all looks.

Well, I certainly see no reason why they shouldn’t use foreign endorsers. Which endorser they want is completely their choice and it doesn’t mean they are being ‘unpatriotic.’ Business decisions are just that – business. The brand does not sell baro’t sayas and ternos for anyone to insist that they use Filipina endorsers, it would only be common sense in that case (although predictable). I don’t know if anyone has noticed but SM, one of the leading department stores/mall chains in the Philippines have foreign models on their posters inside and outside their department stores and malls. And it’s no biggie. Simply put, just because a brand or product is Filipino doesn’t mean a Filipino endorser is a must.

That a Filipino brand did not use a Filipino endorser is not the issue. The only problem I see with this particular fashion chain’s endorser choices is that their target market might have a hard time connecting with the image they portray – at best. Worse, this might distort young Filipino girls’ sense of self-image, identity and even concept of beauty. None of the girls milling about in their stores during a typical weekend look anything like Natalia or Kate Hudson, although I’m pretty sure the brand does not intend to mean their clothes are made for caucasians – majority of their stores are in the Philippines, afterall.

Clothes that look great on a blonde, fair skinned model who’s almost twice as tall as an average Filipina may or may not suit, say, high school girl named Carla in Davao. Girls go through an awkward phase when they are most impressionable and a significant portion of their target market is in the middle of that phase. Heaven forbid that little girls in the Philippines, by this ad, are affirmed in believing they can only be considered beautiful if they are tall, blonde and thin (like models Petra & Natalia and actress Kate Hudson). I hope Carla understands that when she wears that yellow cardigan, it will not look on her the exact same way it looks on Natalia and more importantly, it shouldn’t be something negative in itself. We shouldn’t buy those clothes so we can look like the girl in the poster. More often than not, it would just be an excercise in futility.

This brings to mind the Barbie syndrome (little Asian girls, please don’t get depressed if you do not grow up to have large blue eyes, blonde hair and an 18-inch waist). Constant exposure to and subliminal suggestions coming from such ads may lead to mistaken interpretations of ideas and concepts by young people. Remember that while Ally McBeal can be funny, it was no laughing matter when cases of anorexia and bulimia skyrocketed in places as far away as Fiji when the show gained popularity.

So mothers take care of your little girls. Daddies teach your little boys. Ads are ads I know, you know, and maybe the person beside you knows but make sure your children understand that, too. This is not just about this particular brand’s ad. Plenty other ads, movies, glossies and etc. show ideas and images that young people might interpret as a promise- upon purchase. But buying a pack of cigarettes doesn’t mean you’ll end up on a yatch surrounded by scantily clad women having a good time. So instead of hoping a product can change you, instead of you needing to fit into clothes, try to live a life in which you are so comfortable in your own skin that clothes end up fitting you, becoming you. Fashion is meant to be worn, not the way around.

To read ‘Blond and Blue Eyes’ speech by Patricia Evangelista: Link