This Weight Watchers Ad About Sex Is Pretty Offensive

A recent Weight Watchers ad in Australia and New Zealand tried to appeal to women who felt self-conscious during sex, but the commercial fell pretty flat with audiences. The ad is part of the Weight Watchers Black campaign, which aims to help women see themselves “in a new light,” according to their site. The program focuses heavily on sex and body positivity in the bedroom, and the commercial was supposed to be an integral part of that. But after receiving backlash, Weight Watchers Australia told Huffington Post that they plan on discontinuing the spot.

The ad begins with one woman saying, “We never had sex completely naked because I couldn’t stand the thought of him seeing all of me.” Numerous women in the commercial tell similar stories, but the commercial ends on a more positive note. A woman says, “It doesn’t matter what size you are or what you weigh at all, it’s about whether you love yourself or not.”

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Although the Weight Watchers ad advocates for body positivity and loving one’s own body just the way it is, another aspect of its campaign angered critics even more. Weight Watchers sent lightbulbs around, which were branded as “a ‘mood light’ to give you a little boost in the bedroom (a PG sex toy if you will).” Bridie Jabour, an editor at The Guardian Australia, tweeted a photo of the lightbulb with the caption: “How many people thought this was an okay idea before it arrived on my desk as a piece of PR”

A representative for Weight Watchers Australia told the Huffington Post that they realize the ad “fell flat.” Their main goal for the campaign, they said, was “to dispel the notion that people are alone in feeling this way and to shift the conversation from one of shame and negative self-talk to one of body positivity and empowerment.”

Watch the full ad below:

[Huffington Post]