In the past, people in the advertising industries looked down on plus-sized models, people with disabilities, and obviously, they were all about retouching photos and making a standard out of the impossible looks. But, as time passes by, it looks as though everything is changing in the advertising industry. They tend to focus more on reflecting people, and society as a whole, recruiting the before-mentioned people just because of their flaws and limitations. But, we’re still not there, and we have a lot more to do before we get there.
This was proven in a story that went viral when a mother sent pictures of her kid for an advertising gig for a clothing company for children named Oshkosh B’Gosh. The advertising agency refused to use the photos just because of the fact that the kid had one flaw. He was suffering from Down syndrome.
Meagan Nash lives in Georgia, the US, along with her family, and she is the mother whose son was declined from Oshkosh B’Gosh. Namely, the mother decided to send photos of her 15-months-old baby, Asher, for the contest that Oshkosh B’Gosh started. They were looking for models baby boys and baby girls for their clothing company. Asher was perfect for the contest, as his mother puts it. He fit the height limitations, and he even had the right color of hair. But, apparently, the baby boy was not good enough for the children’s clothing company.
After Meagan called the representatives to ask them why they declined her child, their answer was pretty controversial. Namely, they answered the mother that they didn’t want their company represented by a baby with “Special needs.” This got Meagan pretty furious, so she took this story to the press and social media.
She was simply frustrated by the company’s answer. She would’ve understood if they gave her a good reason because not every child gets to be a model. But, the answer that they gave her was not a good one. They declined Asher just because he has an extra chromosome, and this was not unacceptable for Meagan.
She couldn’t understand why the company didn’t think things through before giving her that answer. The lengths that Asher could’ve taken the company were unimaginable. But, now, when she was driven by the anger that the company created, she couldn’t wait to start acting.
Facebook was the first place where she decided to pour her anger, she went to the group “Kids with Down’s syndrome.” And she chose to post Asher’s pictures on the group.
And, she hit an instant success with the photos of photographer Crystal Barbee. In these photographs, you could see Asher wearing a blue denim shirt and a cute bow tie. She then decided to write to the company that turned down her son. In the message, Meagan asked the company to take another look at the photographs of her son, and that together they could do amazing things. She also stressed that it wasn’t the company that turned down her son but an advertisement agency. She also added that together with the “Changing the Face of Beauty” organization, they are trying to get these pictures to get to Oshkosh.
Spread this fantastic message by sharing this story on your social media. And let’s help Meagan get her boy under the Oshkosh’s eyes. Don’t forget to tell us your opinion on the matter in the comment section below!
