They must increase their bust

Wonderbra's ad campaign for a new line of D- to G-cup bras features 8,000 women in their underwear.

Published August 11, 2008 7:00PM (EDT)

Who wants to see photos of 8,000 busty women in push-up bras? No, it's not softcore porn, it's Wonderbra's new British marketing campaign. The billboard, which assembles tiny versions of the women's pictures into one large mosaic image of model Katie Green, will appear in central London Monday to advertise the brand's new line of bras in larger cup sizes. Its tag line? The groan-worthy "D to G, because we're more than a handful."

The photos, which were culled from an open call for women to attend a shoot or upload pictures of themselves wearing Wonderbras, are available for close-up viewing at Wonderbra's U.K. Web site. As with most marketing campaigns that boast images of "real women," the majority of photos included in the ad feature young, fit, multicultural ladies. Of course, it's likely that the homogeneity has something to do with the self-selected pool of women who felt comfortable enough to pose in bras. But if the billboard is supposed to represent the range of ages and body shapes that comprise the D-to-G community, it's not terribly successful.

More interesting than the ad itself is the idea of Wonderbra expanding (get it?) into larger cup sizes. As a member of the DD club, I appreciate any new opportunity to buy a bra that doesn't resemble a flesh-colored medieval torture device. What confuses me, though, is why big-boobied ladies would ever need bras whose prime virtue is the ability to create cleavage where none exists. Would anyone who already wears a G cup actually want to make her chest look larger? Isn't shopping for shirts that don't scream "indecent exposure" enough of a battle already?


By Judy Berman

Judy Berman is a writer and editor in Brooklyn. She is a regular contributor to Salon's Broadsheet.

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