In Russia Reebok Only Likes Skinny Girls
The backstory.
Reebok recently released a new sports bra line called PureMove. Advertised as meeting the needs of every woman, it ranges in size to fit every shape with something called “motion sense technology.”
According to Reebok’s website, the line of sport bras underwent many tests spanning two years using unique motions sensors on women “just like you.” “There’s no standard size-and we get that. Which is why we’re offering 10 unique in-between sizes, so you can track down your perfect fit,” the official Reebok campaign said.
So they set out to tell the world how great this bra is. Especially for women “just like you.”
Just, apparently not in Russia.
Reebok’s ad campaign for the US, UK, Canada, France and other countries showed “regular” women of varying shapes with different builds modeling the new sports bra. Then there was Russia. Oh Russia.
Reebok Russia refused to use the official advertising materials and selected their own models, three very slim, similarly looking, Russian celebrities.
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That’s when nutritionist and coach at CrossFit MSK Anastasia Chigarinova stepped in. She thought the version she and other Russian women saw was nonsense, so she got a group of “regular” women together for a photoshoot, wearing their own athletic wear, and took to using the hashtag #reebokнормальногочеловека (‘ReebokforARegularPerson’ in Russian).
An Internet social protest was born.
“It’s very simple, health comes in all shapes and sizes. If a girl is thin, this does not mean that she is well. If a person is full, it does not mean that his state of health is worse or better than yours, he doesn’t keep up with himself or has problems with self-esteem, self-acceptance and so on. Full can not ‘sell’ a sports bra? Let’s just not even discuss why that is offensive, and let’s move on to the fact that a healthy lifestyle is the way to life. Thinness as a motivator to be in shape is fleeting, and love and caring for oneself contribute to long-term conscious investments in one’s well-being,” Chigarinova wrote.
So what does Reebok have to say about this?
We reached out to M&C Saatchi, the agency handling PR for Reebok’s Pure Move campaign numerous times but they declined to comment.
