#IAmPerfect

Overview

#IAmPerfect is a Twitter hashtag campaign started by a group of British university students in response to the “Perfect Body” advertising campaign launched by American lingerie retailer Victoria’s Secret in late October 2014. The hashtag is accompanied by an online petition at Change.org, which demands an official apology and revision of the ad copy from the company. Within 72 hours of its launch, the petition has gained over 16,000 signatures, or roughly two thirds of the supporters required to reach its goal.

Background

On October 13th, 2014, Victoria’s Secret introduced a new line of bras under the label “Body,” along with several poster advertisements featuring a group of slim-bodied models in underwear and the tagline reading “Perfect ‘Body,’” with the word “Body” wrapped in quotations to highlight the name of the line. Throughout October, the advertisements were placed on storefront display in several British stores, as well as on the company’s U.S. website; However, the campaign mostly remained out of controversy until October 28th, when an online petition was submitted to Change.org by Frances Black, a 22-year-old student at Leeds University, who decided to seek an official apology and revision of the tagline after spotting one of the adverts while walking through Trinity Shopping Centre.

Notable Developments

#IAmPerfect

As the Change.org petition began to take off in the social media and the news, many critics of the company’s ad campaign took their messages on Twitter with the hashtag #IAmPerfect. According to Topsy, the hashtag was used more than 4,300 times in the first 72 hours of the petition’s launch.

Search Interest

External References