# Hips and Curves video, is it disturbing?



## ByRoSwim (Jan 15, 2012)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_3AmjLG4t4&feature=youtu.be

Hips and Curves made a video to sell their underwear, however, I find the images very disturbing. I found 7 images that bother me. 1. it's dark 2. she's alone 3. the door is wide open. 4. she is not paying attention 5. she does a slow strip tease. 6. he is a voyeur......7. the knife. After that, I no longer thought of lingerie.

Ok.. am I prude? do you find these images sexy? romantic? is it cutting edge? are these positive images for any woman? 

I know seeing any image of a plus size model in the main stream is supposed to be a good thing, but like this? Am I too old to "get it?"

I usually dont make controversial posts... but this really got to me.


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## Your Plump Princess (Jan 15, 2012)

I'm 21 and I find that video slightly disturbing, too. <_< The moment with the knife, and the look on his face? I totally thought I was watching an episode of _Law & Order: SVU _ for a second...


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## Dr. Feelgood (Jan 15, 2012)

I think you're _supposed_ to feel disturbed. I'll add #8: the music. Like the images, it raises the hair on the back of your neck. As you mentioned, the dark, the man's general spaciness, and the knife all prepare the viewer for murder. The relief that comes when he slices the hose -- in order to have an excuse to see the mechanic again, I presume -- seems humorous in contrast to the disturbing images that preceded it.


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## imfree (Jan 15, 2012)

ByRoSwim said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_3AmjLG4t4&feature=youtu.be
> 
> Hips and Curves made a video to sell their underwear, however, I find the images very disturbing. I found 7 images that bother me. 1. it's dark 2. she's alone 3. the door is wide open. 4. she is not paying attention 5. she does a slow strip tease. 6. he is a voyeur......7. the knife. After that, I no longer thought of lingerie.
> 
> ...



Sabotage of one's own car by cutting tubing or wiring under the hood to have an excuse to "come back next time you're running hot" immediately after leaving the shop looks somewhat creepy to me.


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## bigmac (Jan 15, 2012)

Great video!!! A film noir commercial with a super hot BBW.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_noir


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## Marlayna (Jan 15, 2012)

I thought it was slightly silly, but I wouldn't go so far as to say disturbing. It was just a fantasy. I didn't see any blood or abuse.
What stood out to me was how pretty the model was, and how non-fat she was to be called "plus-sized."


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## CastingPearls (Jan 15, 2012)

LOL Yeah it didn't bother me because it was as Big Mac mentioned, along the lines of film noir however, I was mystified as to why she was putting on stockings and her face was still dirty. hahahahah


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## ByRoSwim (Jan 15, 2012)

OK.. well, I guess it's me. It triggered something in me. I had a friend who was assaulted. It was dark, she was alone, the door was open, she wasnt paying attention. I wont go into the details. I certainly wasnt thinking about underwear, thats for sure.


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## joswitch (Jan 15, 2012)

Porny B movie. lol! 

Tara Lynn's looking good!


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## Your Plump Princess (Jan 15, 2012)

My first thought when I saw her face was "what mechanic wears shiny lipgloss while working on a car?"


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## Paul (Jan 15, 2012)

ByRo I understand your reaction given what happened to your friend. My reaction to the commercial was that a plus size woman can be beautiful by shopping at Hips and Curves;sexy enough that a customer may even sabotage his own car to return to the garage. 

BTW A trend that I believe is occurring in internet advertising is to attempt to try to reach the limits of acceptability with the goal to increase the numbers of people viewing the ad. This add edgy, maybe a bit too sexy, too frightening (what will he do with the knife) but never crosses the line so that YouTube would ban the ad. Internet advertising is beginning to stretch the limits of what is acceptable or what people are comfortable with. Why? It gets people discussing and viewing the ad. This add achieved that advertiser's goal while managing to not go beyond the limits of acceptability so that youtube would ban the ad. 

BTW How may in this thread, or on the internet, would have viewed this ad if it did not stretch the limits of what is acceptable? You may question if this is a good ad for selling lingerie, but you cannot deny that this ad accomplished the goal of getting you to view it.



ByRoSwim said:


> OK.. well, I guess it's me. It triggered something in me. I had a friend who was assaulted. It was dark, she was alone, the door was open, she wasnt paying attention. I wont go into the details. I certainly wasnt thinking about underwear, thats for sure.


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## Marlayna (Jan 15, 2012)

joswitch said:


> Porny B movie. lol!
> 
> Tara Lynn's looking good!


She'd even look great in old ragged underwear.


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## ByRoSwim (Jan 15, 2012)

You are right, I am talking about the ad. However, it doesn't make me want to click on their website. But, like I said, it is just my reaction.


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## joswitch (Jan 15, 2012)

Your Plump Princess said:


> My first thought when I saw her face was "what mechanic wears shiny lipgloss while working on a car?"



Haha! exactly! It reminded me of the old Carlsberg adverts!

"Wait! this porno is not ready yet!"


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## mossystate (Jan 15, 2012)

ByRoSwim said:


> OK.. well, I guess it's me. It triggered something in me. I had a friend who was assaulted. It was dark, she was alone, the door was open, she wasnt paying attention. I wont go into the details. I certainly wasnt thinking about underwear, thats for sure.



It's not just you. While I can step away and call the ad mostly cheesy, let's face it...this kind of ' sexy ' " what might he do to her...in this dark garage...nobody else around " darkness has been used so much in print and video advertising that it has become, unfortunately, almost background noise. Woman alone...dark...someone with a knife. Yeah.


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## ByRoSwim (Jan 15, 2012)

It's not the story or the fantasy or the film noir aspect. It's portraying all the things a lone woman is not supposed to do. Alone in a dark garage, the door open, not paying attention, then finding out the guy had a knife in his pocket the entire time. I understand the fantasy of it, how it could be considered sexy. But for me, the message didn't come across that way. 

As a woman alone in most things I do, i think about my safety first. I am thinking about this too much and too deep!


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## Marlayna (Jan 15, 2012)

ByRoSwim said:


> It's not the story or the fantasy or the film noir aspect. It's portraying all the things a lone woman is not supposed to do. Alone in a dark garage, the door open, not paying attention, then finding out the guy had a knife in his pocket the entire time. I understand the fantasy of it, how it could be considered sexy. But for me, the message didn't come across that way.
> 
> As a woman alone in most things I do, i think about my safety first. I am thinking about this too much and too deep!


I'm very safety conscious, but this woman wasn't portrayed as a victim.
If the man came back and rang the bell, I doubt she'd call the cops... I think she'd be into it.
He was handsome and well off, in keeping with the sexual fantasy.

I know where you're coming from, however, and there was definitely a creepy feel to the whole thing.


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## CastingPearls (Jan 15, 2012)

ByRoSwim said:


> It's not the story or the fantasy or the film noir aspect. It's portraying all the things a lone woman is not supposed to do. Alone in a dark garage, the door open, not paying attention, then finding out the guy had a knife in his pocket the entire time. I understand the fantasy of it, how it could be considered sexy. But for me, the message didn't come across that way.
> 
> As a woman alone in most things I do, i think about my safety first. I am thinking about this too much and too deep!


I honestly don't think you're thinking about it too much or too deep. We all experience things differently. You spoke of a friend who was assaulted and how it kind of triggered you. I was assaulted yet it didn't trigger me, still it doesn't make either one of us wrong. 

When I saw the knife in his hand, for a moment I thought, 'huh?' but I'm a film noir buff so I expected something but assault isn't going to sell bras and panties so that wasn't my first thought. It was cheesy (again, the dirty face, yet she's wearing perfect lipgloss and undies and putting on stockings in a dirty garage, but then again, it's a fantasy. Not mine though, lol) but your take on it is not invalid by any means.

I DO agree that it was creepy-ish to me as well.


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## bigmac (Jan 15, 2012)

Your Plump Princess said:


> My first thought when I saw her face was "what mechanic wears shiny lipgloss while working on a car?"



When I worked for the City of Edmonton Public Works Department one of my co-workers used to wear pink lip gloss. She was a very capable small BBW -- the only female who could use the 90lb jack hammer -- and the only person to actually look good in orange coveralls.


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## thatgirl08 (Jan 15, 2012)

I agree with the person who commented and said it looked more like the beginning of a bad porno than a commercial. Like wtf, no, this did not make me want to buy underwear. It was entirely too long and strange.


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## BigBeautifulMe (Jan 15, 2012)

I thought it was pretty hot. However, I also saw her as doing the "striptease" for him intentionally. All he does is pull out of the garage and look in his rearview mirror. He hasn't gone more than several feet. There's no way it wouldn't have been perfectly clear to her that he was still there. It doesn't show a door shutting behind him or anything else... how is it possible that he sees her perfectly clearly, and her surrounding environs, and she doesn't see him at all? It's not.


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## mossystate (Jan 15, 2012)

I don't think the total of the video is about the logical, or even about all the particular details. There is a reason they set it up this way. They didn't go as far as many examples of setting up situations where there is a " what's he going to do " question of some sort. They didn't want to go that far. But, like I said, this sort of set-up is common, and there is a reason ' they ' use it.


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## EvilPrincess (Jan 15, 2012)

CastingPearls said:


> LOL Yeah it didn't bother me because it was as Big Mac mentioned, along the lines of film noir however, I was mystified as to why she was putting on stockings and her face was still dirty. hahahahah


That was all I could think of, why why why, I can't remember what the underwear looked like but can tell you about that darn stocking.


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## penguin (Jan 15, 2012)

I just wondered why it took her so long to get her overalls off. The whole, 'la di da, I'll just stand here with them around my ankles and pose pose pose for a bit' was a bit much, especially when the shots of her face had nothing to do with her underwear, but I'm not in advertising, so what do I know? 

I didn't see anything threatening there, the knife was clearly used for his car, and it didn't seem to imply he'd use it on her. He was just making an excuse to see her. It did show that he's an idiot, because he could've just asked her out instead of paying for the car to be fixed again.


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## Tracyarts (Jan 16, 2012)

LOL to the bad porn comment! 

My mind immediately said "SKINEMAX" when I watched it. It just had that late-night cable channel softcore kind of vibe about it. Not particularly dark or threatening, just kind of porny. 

Tracy


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## Lamia (Jan 16, 2012)

I wasn't disturbed, but I think it was a crappy commercial.


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## Captain Save (Jan 16, 2012)

I got the impression the ad was directed at men who might visualize themselves in this situation, men who might like to see themselves with a sweaty hot girl in an auto garage like Tara Lynn, and men who might easily spend their money on their products because they'd visualize the sex appeal of the model in their partner.

Yes, it's provocative, but I'd imagine that's the point.


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## LinathSuru (Jan 16, 2012)

See, I didn't like this ad at all. I thought the actor and the music just made it creepy. My boyfriend agreed on both counts. I wonder how it will impact their sales, if at all. I also got a kick out of how the audio track did a chime-type effect every time the camera hit the lace on her bra (okay maybe not every time, but still).


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## imfree (Jan 16, 2012)

Ha! I could see that loser cutting the wrong hose/wire, having to wait an hour for a tow, then missing closing of that shop by an hour or if he was within walking distance, the lady mechanic realizing she was being set up and tripping a silent alarm as soon as she saw the cut wire/hose!


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## bigbri (Jan 16, 2012)

It was an "OK" ad, not much dumber than some of the Viagra adds floating about. The cop out for me was when we knew he was taken by her looks when she had to repeat her diagnosis, that he needed the "safety" of a cut vacuum hose to have the necessary excuse to go back and hit on the pretty BBW. Obviously she wanted him to come back, otherwise why disrobe without closing the garage door.


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## Tad (Jan 16, 2012)

I think the concept of the commercial was OK, but they ended up really wide of the mark. It is hard to hit that right mix of playful/funny and sexy, and I'd say they failed pretty hard.

But I guess if you are not too big of an outfit, and have invested that much in a commercial, what do you do if it does not come out the way you want?


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## pegz (Jan 16, 2012)

I wasn't disturbed. She was hot, the bra and panties were hot, the dirty face/dirty girl image... eh.. I get it. If this would have been on my TV I would have stopped and watched. Isn't that the point? Make someone stop in their tracks, pause, watch and then move on with Hips and Curves dancing in their heads.


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## danbsc29630 (Jan 16, 2012)

Where did she find a water pump for that car that night? The knife part was a little creepy.


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## imfree (Jan 16, 2012)

danbsc29630 said:


> Where did she find a water pump for that car that night? The knife part was a little creepy.



I don't know if they do, nowadays, but a busy South Nashville AutoZone store was open until midnight on Saturday, years ago.


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## AuntHen (Jan 16, 2012)

Two things...

1) this vid was one note short of "bow chicka bow bow"

2) her bra is too cute and I want one in every color


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## LovelyLiz (Jan 18, 2012)

The music and that guy's weird expression as they interacted definitely seemed creepy to me. 

And the knife thing, I do think there was supposed to be a moment of "WTF is creepy-faced guy going to do???!!!???" And then he cuts the hose and all is well. I didn't love the whole knife part, honestly. It did feel a little violent for some reason to me, even though it wasn't used in that way - and I don't have any experience of being assaulted or anything, but it still felt violent just seeing it there.

That model is smokin' tho.


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## Saoirse (Jan 18, 2012)

Its just another lame ass commercial. I like how people are picking it to DEATH.


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## rickydaniels (Jan 18, 2012)

Here's my two cents...
The commercial had some potential. I get the knife thing. He cuts his hose so she can fix the car again. I didn't feel like it was creepy. Overall the lighting and photography was good. The acting wasn't terrible, i've seen worse on Cinemax. I thought the strip tease could have been better. She just slowly takes off her cover-alls. I think this commercial would have been better had she worked in a body shop. Maybe he comes in with a dent in his car. At the end he can smack his other side with a hammer and show up again. It does sorta need a cuter ending.


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## mossystate (Jan 18, 2012)

Saoirse said:


> Its just another lame ass commercial. I like how people are picking it to DEATH.



Glad you like it. Tune out. Peace. :bow:



rickydaniels said:


> I get the knife thing. He cuts his hose so she can fix the car again. I didn't feel like it was creepy.



You think that was kinda like showing someone in a peanut butter commercial going to the utensils drawer to grab a Ginsu to dip into a jar of Skippy. Doesn't have to be the end of any world ( only the actual end of the world gets to nab that billing ), but there is a reason and a history for setting certain ' tones ' in advertising. They could have shown him without the knife...without the setting that tone of " what's he going to do with that knife ". 

I guess I have just seen enough of that stupid shit in my 50 years to last me the rest of my time on this earth...no matter how lame the presentation. 

Oh, and for a couple of men out here...yeah, I would have thought it just as crap if the commercial had some hot man flesh...tightly fitting overalls...camera lingering on his healthy package...and then showing some sexay woman holding up a knife. Except, that wouldn't have worked as well, because the audience wouldn't have bought the mood...wouldn't have that file in their heads to go to....well, except for maybe Lorena Bobbit...and was nothing sexy about that...amirite?


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## LovelyLiz (Jan 18, 2012)

When we stop "picking to DEATH" the advertising, media, and the f*cked up cultural narratives being thrown at us constantly, we may as well just all get lobotomies and let Coca-Cola buy ad space on our foreheads.

I don't think people do enough questioning of the implicit messages of advertising, media, etc., and I am glad when people call stuff out and start a conversation. Even if we disagree, at least we're thinking and not just ignoring the power of images and stories to form us as a society.

Thanks for this thread, OP.


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## imfree (Jan 18, 2012)

mcbeth said:


> When we stop "picking to DEATH" the advertising, media, and the f*cked up cultural narratives being thrown at us constantly, we may as well just all get lobotomies and let Coca-Cola buy ad space on our foreheads.
> 
> I don't think people do enough questioning of the implicit messages of advertising, media, etc., and I am glad when people call stuff out and start a conversation. Even if we disagree, at least we're thinking and not just ignoring the power of images and stories to form us as a society.
> 
> Thanks for this thread, OP.



I fully agree. There are untold numbers of messages being pushed through our mindgate by the media. The producers of advertising try very hard to find that imagery that could sell a product without even considering what subliminal messages they could be sending. Guard your mindgate! IMHO


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## ByRoSwim (Jan 18, 2012)

mcbeth said:


> When we stop "picking to DEATH" the advertising, media, and the f*cked up cultural narratives being thrown at us constantly, we may as well just all get lobotomies and let Coca-Cola buy ad space on our foreheads.
> 
> I don't think people do enough questioning of the implicit messages of advertising, media, etc., and I am glad when people call stuff out and start a conversation. Even if we disagree, at least we're thinking and not just ignoring the power of images and stories to form us as a society.
> 
> Thanks for this thread, OP.



You are welcome. To me the images were all wrong. Forget the story, the acting, the film noir aspect, the fantasy. Women, alone, in this society, are taught, or should be taught, to be careful and aware of our surrondings...right?

This video shows the exact opposite, at least to me, it did. I get being edgy and out of the box, but I did not once think of lingerie in this ad. And once he took out that knife, while still in his car, in the dark...well, I was thinking "unsub." 

Like I said before, maybe, I am too old to think that romance equals, no knives!


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## Dr. Feelgood (Jan 18, 2012)

mcbeth said:


> When we stop "picking to DEATH" the advertising, media, and the f*cked up cultural narratives being thrown at us constantly, we may as well just all get lobotomies and let Coca-Cola buy ad space on our foreheads.
> 
> I don't think people do enough questioning of the implicit messages of advertising, media, etc., and I am glad when people call stuff out and start a conversation. Even if we disagree, at least we're thinking and not just ignoring the power of images and stories to form us as a society.
> 
> Thanks for this thread, OP.



Unfortunately, I cannot rep you for this. But I CAN worship you. :bow:


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## Saoirse (Jan 18, 2012)

Obviously, the media has quite a hold on some people. I feel sorry.


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## thatgirl08 (Jan 19, 2012)

I really just don't think anything about this commercial would make me want to buy underwear. Remember the racy Lane Bryant ad where the girl was wearing a trench coat with lingerie under it? THAT caught my attention. This.. not so much.


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## thatgirl08 (Jan 19, 2012)

Saoirse said:


> Obviously, the media has quite a hold on some people. I feel sorry.



I get what you're saying but the media has quite a hold on EVERYONE, if we are honest with ourselves. Unless you live on a self-sufficient farm in the woods somewhere with no human contact, you're being influenced by it.


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## Lovelyone (Jan 27, 2012)

They've removed the video now.


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## danbsc29630 (Feb 25, 2012)

I was going to watch it agian.


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