New Demi Moore Perfume Ad: ‘Before And After’ Photos

Yesterday I came across this bit in New York Magazine on Demi Moore comparing the before and after photos for her new Helena Rubinstein perfume ad and felt it might make a decent little follow up to my Madonna post and the overarching point I was trying to convey about our society’s obsession with youth. Looking at these photos, the thing that strikes me is how much BETTER she appears in the before photo. First off, she looks fantastic for her age. The ton of plastic surgeries she’s had done have served her quite well in her case. Yet, as great as she looks, the ad agency (and I’m assuming Moore herself) felt it was necessary to freakishly alter her appearance through Photoshop into something completely alien.

What kind of message does it send to the public when perfection is not perfect enough?

Now I know this sort of thing has gone on for a long time, but I think in recent years, it’s been taken to a whole new level. Between all the plastic surgery and Photoshop, who knows what celebrities really look like anymore? One might ask if it matters, but it should. By bombarding us with these ridiculous images, women are getting an aesthetic standard foisted upon them which is completely unattainable, thus making them feel as if there’s something inherently wrong with getting older. It’s pretty sick when you think about it.

This new Demi Moore ad is  particularly obnoxious. Her breasts have been enhanced, and her skin has been given this odd plastic sheen to it which is just plain creepy. She basically looks like a bad cartoon caricature of herself. The ironic thing is, I think the before photo would sell far more perfume I really do. There’s an earthy accessibility to her natural state which exudes sex, while the Photoshopped image just looks like she’s a cyborg.

Embrace your wrinkles people, you’ve earned them. Haven’t you been bought and sold by the corporate machine long enough? It’s time to start living a life in which our value is not based upon such superficiality. Billy Crystal’s “it’s better to look good than to feel good” jibe drew laughs back in the ’80s. But today we’ve somehow fooled ourselves into repeating this line like mantra, without a trace of irony.

The truth is, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to understand that feeling good on your own terms, with your own face and your own mind is the most anyone could or should hope for out of life.

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