The reason the ad is there is quite simple. Because it is effective. People buy the product. Railing against it won't make it go away. What will make it go away is it's ineffectiveness. Advertisers will not pay good money to be on Oprah.com if they don't get results.

Also, external things cannot "put" negative thoughts in my head. If I react to the ad with negative thoughts, that is me choosing to do so.

I do see the irony in a spiritual discussion board covered with anti-aging and be-more-beautiful ads. (Not just the one mentioned, look around, they're everywhere) But I don't find myself offended. Actually I find myself a little amused considering that the ads would not be here if they did not generate sales from customers here on this board. Isn't that an amusing little twist?

P.S. I do not buy anti-aging products, nor do I wear makeup, but obviously I must be in the minority and that's just fine, too.

Growing45

alas alas we`re all in the same boat.

why are we so willing to tear ideas apart and not support them ? alas alas we`re all in the same boat

I don't believe it is the older image that she finds repulsive, - it is the relentless bombardment that aging is NOT ok - I find the ads insulting and I believe that they further confuse the beauty of aging. Growing old is a wonderful process of learning to let go of the things of the ego. These ads perpetuate hanging on to something that we should gracefully let go. I am in a field that allows be to continual minister to the aging person - I find them beautiful - I would not dream of telling them to please try to look younger.

4thcoming, you said it so well--I agree that we are continuously being told that we are not good enough if we don't look young and are doing everything we can to achieve this, i.e. plastic surgery, the right clothes, the right weight, etc. Open any magazine, and this is the message we get. Look at Oprah's magazine--it is full of anti-aging cosmetics, fashion, and tips on how to look young. I am 59 and love my age. I work around lots of young people, and that's just fine. I agree, growing old is wonderful, and we women can be our own worst enemies. I am conflicted when I see programs such as how to not be a "schlulmpedinka" (sp?). I thought the women looked just fine as they were--maybe 'cause that's how I look . LIfe is great and we must stop beating ourselves up because we don't fit Madison Avenue's dictate of how we should look!!! pj

I did notice it, but I'm one of those spirits that can refocus and ignore! I agree, Oprah can we find new, more positive advertisers like Dove?

Thanks for the discussion.

Joy!
Togiann

I agree with this whole heartedly... I was looking at that today and was creeped out. We should like ourselves for who we are and this society is so against wrinkles. I have bad genes and have some wrinkles on my face and I hate them I am obsessed with them and feel horrible for the way that I look. I was on today and this journey has made me feel so wonderful and I saw that ad and felt awful again. I am a wonderful soul and I know that I will be full of wrinkles before I know it. Sometimes I even hide from people that I know in stores because I do not want them to see my face. Sad eh?? So I agree and right now the ad is gone yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh...

Yes, I see what you mean..... I concur, but I ratioinalize it with the reality that Oprah's show and the availability of ET depend upon it. The one that resonates with me is the Smithfield Pork one that has Paula Deen as spokesmodel. Smithfield has been cited by the EPA like 7 times, brags about getting away with much worse - google Pork's dirty secret to see the truth - and yet.... and yet....


Well, you know. Money makes the world go round!

I find the ads insulting and I believe that they further confuse the beauty of aging. Growing old is a wonderful process of learning to let go of the things of the ego. These ads perpetuate hanging on to something that we should gracefully let go.

The ads do not perpetuate clinging to our youth.

Our tendency to cling to our youth is what perpetuates these ads.

The face that those ads are profitable is a direct result of our own tendency to blame everything but ourselves for our anxiety about aging. Until each of us can recognize that anxiety in ourselves and stop buying beauty products to hide from it, the ads will never go away. Complaining about the ad does nothing useful.

*fact, not face


sorry

It's just a commercial desgined by the ego for the ego

Hello All!

Yes, I am offended by these ad's which I find in many different venues across the internet. I think it is damaging to see a beautiful human being's face being put down as ugly for the natural markings of a long life lived. Look at an old tree ~ is it not marked and wrinkled, and is it not beautiful? Look at a child's face that has been twisted by mental retardation ~ can you not see the beauty shine through the eyes when he/she smiles? Or a person whose face has been disfigured by fire ~ good thing he/she has loved ones that "see" beyond the twisted flesh to offer love and comfort that is unconditional!

Can we as a human culture get to a point where the wrinkles set on a face show a beauty that can be respected and even loved? If I can see that way than many more people can also ~ wouldn't it be a sweet and gentle world if beauty could be seen and felt from another's heart and soul and not with the eyes. Isn't that where it really resides? And, are we not all of us capable of experienclng this real true beauty. I think yes. And with that yes there is hope for a more wonderful world.

Love to all,

Janet