– It should not be our responsibility to clean up the way the advertising and marketing industry makes money by giving children and young people body pressure, says Isaac Elstad Røssnes. Isaac Elstad Røssnes is head of the organization Press – Redd Barna ungdom, which awards the Gullbarbie award to the actor who is best at making young people feel the worst. Photo: ISMAIL BURAK AKKAN / news He is the head of the organization Press – Redd Barna ungdom and does not really want to continue to make one company responsible at a time when there are major political changes that need to be made. Now Press is demanding that the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority be given extended authority to crack down harder on harmful advertising aimed at children and young people. – In the meantime, we continue to choose who is the best at making young people feel the worst, says Røssnes. Most nominations in the clothing industry The nominees for this year’s Golden Barbie are Prowhitening, Ex on the Beach and clothing chain giant Zara. The award goes to the advertising and media player who is best at making young people feel the worst. Here is the rationale Ex on the Beach Norway Ex on the Beach Norway has been nominated for the sexualization of the participants and the way this is presented to a young audience. The marketing is characterized by the body and sex, which is reflected in the programme. Previous participants have also felt sex-express from other participants without the production having intervened. The age limit for the program is 14 years. The series is thus streamed uncritically to a young audience and contributes to increased sexualisation in the media image. Prowhitening Prowhitening is nominated for actively using influencers to sell the idea that white teeth are a necessity for young consumers. Teeth whitening at most dentists has an age limit of 18, while Prowhitening writes on their website that they “recommend that you are over 12” to buy their product. The teeth whitening strips promote a one-sided ideal of beauty at the same time that their products can be harmful to the teeth. ZARA ZARA is nominated because, through products and marketing, they promote a one-sided ideal of beauty. The popular clothing chain lacks variety in the sizes they offer, especially in the brick-and-mortar stores. In addition, they show little body diversity in their marketing. ZARA’s definition of what a “normal” body looks like is therefore very narrow. As Europe’s largest clothing chain measured by the number of stores, ZARA should offer clothes for all bodies, but this is not the reality today. – We received several nominations and it is the clothing industry from which we receive the most nominees, says Røssnes to news. The winner of Gullbarbien 2023 will be chosen on 23 February. The clothing chain Zara is also among the nominees. Several have nominated actors in the clothing industry because of body pressure. Photo: YVES HERMAN / Reuters Raises ethical issues Department director of the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority, Bente Øverli, says that they supervise, among other things, the Marketing Act and that it contains provisions to protect children. – It is important to stress that businesses have their own duty to assess whether their marketing complies with the requirements of these provisions, she says to news. At the same time, she believes that the lack of diversity in marketing, such as in the clothing industry and body pressure as a result, is not the responsibility of the inspectorate. – There could therefore be situations where a marketing campaign is not illegal based on the provisions of the Marketing Act, but that it nevertheless raises ethical questions, concludes Øverli. Not entirely agree with the criticism Director of Communications at Warner Bros. Discovery, Hanne Mcbride, writes in an e-mail that the Ex on the Beach reaction does not want such an award as they are now nominated to receive. – The work Press does is important and we cheer for young people who speak up. Maybe we should use less body and more warmth in the marketing. Less boob and more humor? It could also help to show off the programme’s content better, she writes to news. She also clarifies that the production does not agree with all the premises underlying the nomination, but looks forward to a meeting with Press to listen to their input. Hanne Mcbride is director of communications at Warner Bros. Discovery, which makes the reality series Ex on the Beach. Photo: Anita Arntzen / Anita Arntzen – That popular culture is sexualized is no news. Ex on the Beach reflects the times we live in. It’s a series many people care about, whether they cheer for the contestants or distance themselves from them. Their experience is that the critics of the program have not seen much of what they criticize. – They have read headlines, seen clips without context, they have seen drama, but not the aftermath. The relationships, reflections and discussions surrounding the events in the series provide fertile ground for debate in the Ex-villa, but also outside the TV screen, among young people and adults. It is valuable, concludes Mcbride. news has tried to get in touch with Zara and Prowhitening without any response. Has seen improvement It is the young people themselves who nominate candidates for the award and vote for those who are best at making young people feel the worst. – We open nominations as soon as the winner is announced. Last year we were open from March to October. After that, we have a process where we elaborate on the nomination zones that fit the criteria, says Røssnes. He says that Press has seen an improvement in previous winners. One example is Bikbok, who changed the sizes to the European standard after they received the award.
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