Friday, January 6, 2012

Model Behavior

Check out the handsome young model on the left, currently featured in the Target circular.  He's  getting a lot of press this week, including articles at MSNBC and Adweek


Target Ad


Nordstrom ad

Why is this a big deal?  A fellow blogger, Noah's Dad, puts it well (the following is taken from his blog):

Even though Target didn’t make a big deal out of the fact they used a boy with Down syndrome as a model in their ad, they said plenty. They said the same things that Nordstrom said when they used Ryan as a model in their catalog this past summer. I could list a hundred things Target said by running this ad, let me give you 5 that immediately come to mind:

5 Things Target said by Not Saying Anything:
 
1.They said that people born with Down syndrome deserve to be treated the same as every other other person on this planet.
 
2.They said that it’s time for organizations to be intentional about seeking creative ways to help promote inclusion, not exclusion. (It’s no accident that Target used a model with Down syndrome in this ad; it was an intentional decision. If want the world to be a place where everyone is treated equal we can’t just sit around and watch the days tick away. We have to be intentional. We have to do something.)

3.They said that companies don’t have to call attention to the fact that they choose to be inclusive in order for people to notice their support for people with disabilities. In fact, by not making a big deal out of it they are doing a better job of showing their support for the special needs community.

4.They said it’s important for the world to see people born with disabilities with a fresh set of eyes. That it’s time for us to lay down all the inaccurate stereotypes from the past and move forward embracing the future with true and accurate ones

5.They said you don’t have to spend a lot for your kids to look good! (I mean come on, that shirt’s only five bucks!)

(What do you think- should we let Anthony's hair grow long again like Ryan's?)

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