Dive Brief:
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ModCloth last week stepped up its efforts to fight Photoshopping with an event supporting the Truth in Advertising Act that would require the Federal Trade Commission to develop regulations around image alterations in advertising.
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The Truth in Advertising Act was reintroduced into Congress in February, sponsored by Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Lois Capps (D-FL), and Theodore E. Deutch (D-FL) .
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ModCloth founder Susan Koger hosted an event in Washington Thursday to raise awareness for the bill, noting that ModCloth two years ago signed a so-called “Heroes Pledge For Advertisers” petition promising that the company would do its "best not to change the shape, size, proportion, color and/or remove/enhance the physical features, of the people in our ads in post-production.”
Dive Insight:
ModCloth has long demonstrated a keen interest in offering its on-trend, pretty dresses and accessories to women of all sizes, and making a point to spotlight women of all body types in its advertising and on its website. Last year that stance led ModCloth to retire the “Plus” category from its website and pop-up shops in favor of featuring clothing in a range of sizes instead. According to NPD, the plus-sized market is now valued at $17 billion, with 67% of American women between size 14 and 34.
Last August, ModCloth was the first retailer to sign the Truth in Advertising pledge, promising to not materially Photoshop its models. Modcloth says it has never materially Photoshopped its images and notes that it frequently hires models from its own community of customers to “ensure an authentic and diverse portrayal of women.”
“Portraying women in an honest and realistic way is essential to fulfilling our brand purpose of empowering women to be the best version of themselves,” Kroger said in a statement emailed to Retail Dive. “It demonstrates to young women that measurements are a fact, not a judgment. We want to lend our voice and the support of the ModCloth community to this movement to stop the extreme and harmful Photoshopping of women in advertisements.”
This is a retailer with a strong sense of self, thanks not just to the vision of ModCloth's founders, but also to the close ties it enjoys with its customer base, or what it calls its “community.” That's a fairly unusual advantage at a time when retailers from discount even to luxury are struggling to connect with consumers. Other retailers have seen success with a more natural marketing approach, most noticeably American Eagle with its Aerie lingerie and basics brand. Since the retailer chose to not Photoshop any models wearing Aerie items in 2014, the company has seen Aerie's sales rise ahead of its main brand—in March American Eagle reported healthy fourth quarter results thanks in large part to Aerie's 4% rise in same-store sales during the period.
ModCloth's vision also includes expansion into "offline, international and brand extensions," the company said last month when it announced three new executive hires. The retailer is currently in the midst of its IRL tour that will visit 13 different cities this summer, setting up a pop-up fitting boutique in each.