Plastic Surgery: Should Advertising For It Be Illegal?

A UK Feminist group has issued a petition to make it illegal to advertise for plastic surgery procedures (like the ad above). Their reasoning is cited as "ads present a public health risk because they recklessly trivialize invasive surgical procedures; they undermine body confidence and their prevalence makes them impossible to avoid." (Huffington Post)


The ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) monitors all advertising in the UK. They have recently put restrictions on fast food advertising during children's programs. They monitor any advertising that is seen in the public including print, television, radio, and just about everything else.

Currently the ASA:

• Prohibits advertising and promotion of tobacco products
• Bans misleading advertisements (recently including airbrushed cosmetic ads)
• Monitors validity of advertising for slimming diets, hair treatments, vitamins, beauty treatments,  health food drinks and more
• Maintains a list of non-compliant advertisers that they consider dishonest HERE (offensive and not really work safe)

My opinion is 2-sided on this one. The emotional side screams that you should love who you are and that there are enough ads out there implying we should hate who we are. The logical side says that this kind of action is dangerously close (if not over the line) to restricting freedom of press and speech. However, this is not the US we are talking about and regulations can be different.

What do you think and would you be for or against regulations like this in the US?

Why target market?

As a man, have you ever been completely enthralled and excited about a feminine product commercial?

Unlikely. You are not their target market.

Here is the deal, 80% of your business comes from the loyal approximately 20% of your customer list. Those folks love what you do and are completely satisfied. You want more of those loyal customers. First you have to figure out who they are so here are the ways to define them:

1. geographics
• Where do they live? Is there a specific neighborhood where your business is popular?
• This will help you decide where to advertise best.
2. demographic/socio-economic segmentation 
• Gender, age, income and occupation? 
• If your actual demographic is young men and you thought it was middle-aged women, then you can adjust your offers to appeal to that market. Middle aged women like time savers and young men want discounts. Are your offerings appropriate?
3. psychographic segmentation 
• attitudes, values, and lifestyles. What is important to them? What makes them tick?
• Use this information to further tailor your message and give them what they need!
4. product-related segmentation 
• What do they use your product/service for?
• You may think this obvious, but those previously mentioned young men may be purchasing it for their mom. If you didn't know that then you may not be as effective.

Ok, so that is a start for now. More juicy, delicious tidbits of marketing wisdom later.