Model teaches jocks proper fingering technique #FdAdFriday

Supermodel Kate Upton is a pro at home video games. Who knew?

So here she is coaching Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers, David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays, Jay Bruce of the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson how to handle their bats and balls in Major League Baseball 2K12.



Ummm... head

Via James Addicted

How young is too young to model?

In these days of Toddlers & Tiaras, it's easy to think that our media-saturated, image-obsessed culture has lost the sense to let prepubescent children get a pass on commercial sexual exploitation.

Well, one person has stood up to sexualized fashion images of young girls like Kaia Gerber above, who is only ten, appearing in a Young Versace campaign earlier this year.

Her mother has had enough. While she originally told fashion press she was "so thrilled" that Kaia was chosen for such a prestigious assignment, she has since had second thoughts. She has gone so far as to forbid the girl to model until she is at least 17. “At this point, she's too young to pursue a career," the mom explains. "There aren't even a handful of jobs for a 10-year-old girl. But if she's 17 and wants to try it, of course, what can I say?"

Great decision, Cindy Crawford! You see? Some models are actually quite smart and grounded.

Are they casting models, or snuff porn victims?

Bareface talent agency, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has chosen a weird way to promote its services. These ads, by Livingroom, appeared on Ads of The World over the weekend, and I'm still bothered enough by them to post here. 

Yes, I get the idea of the models being pulled every which way by fashion industry objects as representing being "in demand". But this is the freaking UAE. Women are already treated like chattel there. Accordig to Amnesty, "women in the United Arab Emirates continue to suffer the impact of discriminatory laws and practices which affect most aspectsof their life, including marriage and the choice of marriage partner, dissolution of marriage and child custody, and inheritance." Not to mention the threat of being arrested for adultery if they are victims of rape.

Not to mention the danger of foreign models being scammed and abused by unscrupulous recruiters. Or trafficked into prostitution.

So why have the models looking like they are being strangled? Even if unintentionally violent, these images are really not the best way to promote a more westernized fashion industry.

The Models are Revolting!

Well, not really. They're just organizing.


The Model Alliance Video Campaign from The Model Alliance on Vimeo.



Not quite a union, it seems, but a not-for-profit advocacy group that lets models report violations of labour laws and worse.

Here are The Model Alliance's goals:

1. Provide access to affordable health care.
2. Promote greater financial transparency.
3. Ensure that existing child labor laws are enforced.
4. Establish a grievance and enforcement system for issues of sexual harassment.
5. Draft a code of conduct that sets industry-wide standards for castings, shoots and shows.

They've even drafted a modelling bill of rights. It's a good idea. Even the minor-league models I've known over the years have been subject to poor working conditions and sexual harassment.

Sure, you might think of awful supermodels and be unmoved. But think of the thousands of anonymous men, women, boys and girls who are chewed up and spit out by an industry that is the very definition of superficiality. They could use a rescue network.

Via Jezebel

F'd Ad Fridays: Sucks to be a model

Is this for real? It was uploaded a couple of days ago.



The humour is pretty original, but I can't see how this is not going to offend people. Which is probably the intent, because of all the PR. But is that going to get them ahead with their target market?

Hmmm...

Via Creative Criminals

H&M and the curious case of the cyborg models

Look at these two models, from the H&M online catalogue:

Here are three more:

Notice anything... odd?

According to Jezebel, "The bodies of most of the models H&M features on its website are computer-generated and 'completely virtual,' the company has admitted. H&M designs a body that can better display clothes made for humans than humans can, then 'dresses' it by drawing on its clothes, and digitally pastes on the heads of real women in post-production."

In other words, they're just digital paper dolls. Pick a skin tone, add an outfit and photoshop in a real head. Why a real head? Well, humans have pretty fine-tuned facial recognition software in their heads. We tend to be freaked out by fake faces that are too close for comfort, pushing us into the uncanny valley.

You will notice however, on this pose, that they re-use the same headshot over and over again as well.

And in case you're wondering, they have cyborg male models too:

What do you think of this tactic? Its advantage is consistency in showing off the clothes; after all, models are supposed to be mannequins. Plus if they were a little more overt about it, with a disclaimer that "models bodies are computer generated — do not try this at home" then maybe it would help to overcome the whole dysmorphia and eating disorder issue with both models and their followers.

After all, there was a time when fashion was usually sold by illustration.

Is this any different? I'd love to hear your opinions. (Well, those of most of you anyway.)