Pinterest announced that it would ban weight loss ads on its platform. It’s because of a rise in unhealthy eating habits and eating dysfunctions considering the pandemic begun, as reported by the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).
NEDA is supported by this critical step in prioritizing Pinners’ mental health and well-being, particularly those influenced by diet culture, body shaming, and eating disorders, Elizabeth Thompson, NEDA’s interim CEO, announced in a report posted by Pinterest.
Other social media organizations, including Instagram and TikTok, have forbidden a subset of weight loss requirements and products from ads.
Ads targeted young people. That was in answer to the generation of digitally and physically changed Instagram bodies that promote nonsensical beauty standards, ads marketing potentially harmful diet products similar to detox teas, and the growth of the social media-inspired plastic operation. Pinterest, however, states its policy is the first to ban all weight-loss ads.
The method is pretty broad. It forbids any weight loss language or representation, as well as testimonials, product shilling, glorification or denigration of specific body types, and recommendations to Body Mass Index.
It opens on Pinterest’s Ban on ads that include weight loss pills and procedures, before and after pictures, body shaming, and other more recognizable forms of toxic diet culture.
There is, though, a moderately significant loophole. Weight loss companies are not banned from advertising on Pinterest. The company maintains, Ads promoting healthful lifestyles and methods or fitness services and products will yet be allowed, as long as they don’t concentrate on weight loss.
This is really in pace with modern aims in the diet business. Of course, there are nevertheless plenty of specific diet ads on the internet. But some legacy segments have changed to introduce new ad guidelines and consumer tastes.
In 2018, Weight Watchers rebranded to “WW” perhaps consumers would overlook what those Ws originally stood for?. It maintains it’s currently a wellness-focused business, and its new tagline is “Wellness that Works.”
You can bet the $2.5 billion companies didn’t perform that move entirely out of the morality of their heart. Records show that millennials are further involved in healthy eating, body positivity, and wellness, not weight loss. The diet enterprise has modified while still changing in on diet products.
Following the new policy, organizations like WW can, however, advertise on Pinterest, as long as they don’t explicitly reference weight loss which might be pretty OK with them.
