ITV2's Coleen's Real Women or Brands Huge PR Stunt?

Being a student i'm sure it won't come as any suprise to learn that i frequently indulge in some rather trashy TV. One such programme upon which I have become unwittingly hooked is ITV2's Coleen's Real Women. I was initially attracted by the concept of taking everyday people and thrusting them into the limelight of the mainstream modelling industry so they could enjoy their fifteen minutes of fame. Surely this is a selfless gesture from the everyday-scouse-childhood-sweetheart of a football hero come good, Coleen McLoughlin, who herself has found fame in her own right as the "face" of George at ASDA. Not so.

Now call me cynical, but surely this was a concept created with the participating Brands at the fore-front of every decision. This a perfect platform for these companies to publically express their supposed neglect of the size zero phenomena currently plaguing the fashion industry. This is achieved through recruiting real women, i.e. you and me, to represent their brand in a very public campaign. While the programme is both positive and suspensful the eventual outcome is obvious; in all but one of the five episodes aired so far four real women have been given the job. While this is great for the women involved its still the brand who wins in the long run. They have an hour long programme of blatant promotion, which they hope will create brand awareness and increase sales as a result women being enlightened in that this is a product for real women. Perhaps Sweaty Betty, the only company who did not take on a real girl (and interestingly did not hire a model either) are the real winners. They get all the publicity and continue to appeal to their target market who perhaps don't want a real women to represent them, as a sportswear brand perhaps this shows a conflict of interest and after all, models make products look glamorous, real women make them look ordinary. Or just maybe their failure to comply with the latest marketing fad has eliminated a huge number of prospective customers? 

As i say, i'm a viewer of this programme against my better judgement and i'm interested to see just how many companies succumb to the guilt of CSR and i'll keep you updated!