If the advertising moguls of Madison Avenue defined America's fashionable figures, every woman would be at least 5 feet 10 inches tall and weigh not an ounce over 115. But listen, Madison Avenue: The cover-girl look may work for Cindy Crawford or Naomi Campbell, but the bulk of America's clothes-buying population carries a pinch more poundage than all those elite models.
Take Becky Badger Harding, the Salt Laker recently designated as a "real life" model in a statewide search by Nordstrom."Although six years ago I lost 60 pounds and have kept it off, I have had to face the fact that I will never be 5'8" and wear a size 6," Harding says.
Harding, like most American women, applauds the efforts of retailers and ad agencies to promote styles and strategies that complement the general shopping public.
According to Cindy Richards, media relations director at Nordstrom, catalog models who represent the growing segment of mature "middle America" are difficult to find.
"Diversity continues to be an important issue for this decade, yet age diversity remains largely under-represented. We believe in today's youth-oriented society, maturing women rarely find examples in advertising, or much of their everyday life, of people with whom they relate," Richards explains.
Response to the mature model search was overwhelming, says Annie Smith, Town Square buyer and contest coordinator.
"Nearly 900 women applied," Smith adds. "We had a difficult time selecting the 60 finalists but an even more challenging time narrowing the choice down to a single winner."
In addition to Harding, finalists included a grandmother from Springville who brought her husband and a stack of photo entries, a Bountiful grandmother who is an in-line skater and a woman who had eye surgery two days before the contest. Contestant Suzanne Wyatt expressed her desire to look her best despite her need to walk with canes, while Gerda Davis expressed her gratitude for American opportunity after growing up in war-torn Denmark.
Each finalist was awarded a makeover and photo session, then Harding was chosen to compete with other regional winners for a place in the Nordstrom spring catalogs.
The Seattle-based store pioneered the use of "real life" models in catalogs, advertisements and fashion shows.
"We began using diversified looks in ads more than 10 years ago," Richards says. "We were recently honored by the Easter Seal Society for the practice."
"This is just something we saw as a natural progression in advertising," adds Joe Aguilar, corporate coordinator of the Americans with Disabilities Act. "The hundreds of customer letters with positive comments we have received confirm the value of featuring a diverse group of models in our advertising. Our commitment is not a trend. It will remain strong."
Richards cites the local application of corporate marketing strategies.
"In addition to the print ads, we involve disabled adults and children in our fashion shows, kids like Allie Schneider."
Allie, who has spina bifida, walks the ramp with crutches and braces.
"Allie just loves being a part of the shows," says her mother, Nada. "It's such a self-esteem builder for her when she participates and the crowd applauds and appreciates what she tries to do."
Hecht's department stores, based in Washington, D.C., tried the new focus this summer in advertising featuring wheelchair user Gordon Bertolin.
"I don't think I was ever annoyed that there were no disabled people in ads," Bertolin said in an Associated Press story, "but it is a definite positive now."
The results were positive for Hecht's as well. Company advertising directors reported an outpouring of positive consumer response to the campaign and announced plans to continue the strategy.
A growing list of businesses is following a similar strategy.
Bell Atlantic promoted the 911 service with deaf children signing the sales message. IBM demonstrates computer access adjustments for quadriplegic indi-viduals. Nike, Kmart, Levi's and McDonald's are among other companies employing ads that depict the handicapped.
Employing a diverse group of individuals sends a dual message: one that retailers and businesses are increasingly aware of the mainstream of American consumers, and another that the diverse ads generate business.