Terri Stanton wrote:

I am speechless looking at the body of your model. To begin with if this is not a photography creation, you are taking gross advantage of a young woman who is VERY ILL!!!  To publish this advertisement borderlines criminal. Why are you trying to reinforce poor body images among young girls/women. My daughter is a survivor of an eating disorder by the grace of God. She had covered her bedroom walls with disgusting magazine pictures of emaciated young women just like the woman you are using in your ad. My daughter, not being as successful at starving herself to death as she would have liked, turned to snorting cocaine to distroy her appetite so she could starve herself to death. I will no longer allow anyone in my family to purchase ANYTHING by Ralph Lauren due to your gross irresponsibility to the women of the world. I am forwarding this news to every person in my address book as well. You need to get help....THIS IS SICKENING!!!

julia wrote:

In what magazine, billboard or media outlet were these ads presented? I have seen other photo shopped images such as these on “pro-ana” websites- but they are produced by amateur graphic designers. I am wondering if Ralph Lauren actually placed such atrocious ads in the public intentionally. The quality is horrible. It feels to me that some graphic designer touched up some Ralph Lauren ads and then just put them on the internet. Is that still Ralph Lauren’s responsibility- to make sure all his ads never get retouched and posted anonymously on the internet??
(I do not particularly like Ralph Lauren, just want to be honest about shoddy photoshop work being all over the internet- especialy blogs and “pro-ana” websites)

JLM wrote:

Unbelievable. Absolutely sickening, really.
I am sending the facebook page link to everyone I know so they can sign the list!
Too bad...I really liked Ralph Lauren.

True Campaign wrote:

For those who have questions about the photo and whether or not it has been digitally altered and where the ads appeared please see the following:

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/fashion/2009/10/14/2009-10-14_model_fired_for_being_too_fat.html

http://americathebeautifuldoc.com/2009/12/01/open-letter-to-ralph-lauren/

JLM wrote:

Julia,
Here is an interview with model Fillipa Hamilton. I thought it was very informative. Additionally, Ralph Lauren himself has admitted that his company was responsible for releasing the ad:

“For over 42 years we have built a brand based on quality and integrity. After further investigation, we have learned that WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE POOR IMAGING AND RETOUCHING that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman’s body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the caliber of our artwork represents our brand appropriately.”
-The Huffington Post (and others), December 10, 2009. (Emphasis added).

Jade schloss wrote:

that is disgusting

julia wrote:

That is so sad. :( I am glad we can work together to stop the media from presenting distorted beauty.