GET REAL! Toolkit • Talk Back to Media
Month, Day, Year
[Your return address]
Michael S. Salaman, Chairman
Skinny Water
1100 Hector Street, Suite 391
Conshohocken, PA 19428
Dear Mr. Salaman:
I am a student at Cal State Northridge currently involved in the Get Real service-learning
project along with other staff and students. As a team we are working on counteracting media’s
potential influence on body image. Your company is among one of the many negative influences
on teens, both female and male, as well as adults.
Your line of Skinny Water and the advertisements that are run are appalling to all women alike.
Slogans like “Skinny always gets the attention,” “Live the skinny life” and “Strut your skinny”
send a very negative message to all who see it. For both women and men, it implies that the
only kind of women who are desired and worth attention come in just one body shape and size:
skinny. We both know that there is a multitude of body shapes out there, yet your company and
product line refuses to represent them.
You are potentially causing women to feel guilty and unsatisfied with their body. Zero guilt reads
on a Skinny Water bottle. Why should women feel guilty at all for not being skinny? Instead of
bringing down the individuals who choose to buy your drinks and support your business, why
don’t you try to build their self-esteem and empower them?
After reading your press release, I believe your company has a lot of positive potential. I can
see that you are concerned about the obesity and diabetes epidemic in this society, but I am
here to tell you that your execution is all wrong.
As an unsatisfied consumer, I am boycotting all that you represent in addition to the products
you sell. I will not buy any of your products until you take action, rework and reword your
advertisements, and incorporate women of all sizes. You must change your pitch: the product
name, the captions in the advertisements, and the negative body ideals you represent. I will also
make sure to get my friend, coworkers, family, and all of the Get Real staff to discontinue the
purchase of any of your products. I am adamant about spreading the word.
Sincerely, [Your Name]
Get REAL! about Media and Body Image | California State University, Northrdige | National Eating Disorders Association