Friday, February 06, 2009 - Posts
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More fun with press releases! We got a bulletin this afternoon announcing that the celebrity spokeswoman for Pantene's new Pro-V Nature Fusion line is none other than Top Chef hostess and beloved dingbat, Padma Lakshmi. With its minty color scheme and promise of "naturally derived" ingredients, Pantene is pushing the green angle pretty hard. (The word "natural" appears eight times in the 12-sentence press release, and that's not even counting the number of times they name-check the product itself.) Forget the fact that words like "natural" and "organic" are bogus when it comes to shampoo. The kicker, for me, was this line:
Because of Padma’s unique natural beauty and strong Indian roots, she is the perfect representative of the Nature Fusion collection, which key active ingredient is the India-derived Cassia seed.
I think it's kind of funny that Padma got the gig because she, like the Cassia seed, is India-derived. (Reminds me of those great Levy's ads from the '70s.) But what exactly do natural and unique mean in this context? Is she natural because she's from India, like yoga? Is it because she's ethnic? Because I'd say Lakshmi—like most gorgeous models—is about as unnatural looking as you can get. And "unique"? She's beautiful in the most classical sense imaginable. (Unlike, say, past spokeswoman Stacy London, who looks like a superhot witch.)
Quibbling with the marketing department aside, I do want hair like hers, so I guess that's what counts. Though I take umbrage at the description of her as "the first international Indian supermodel." Does no one remember Persis Khambatta?
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A guest post from Politico staff writer Lisa Lerer:
At first glance, Michelle Obama's schedule this week seemed beyond boring. On Wednesday, she visited HUD, allegedly to thank government workers for their service. On Tuesday, she read a book to second-graders at a public charter school. And on Monday, she stopped by the Department of Education—again, to "thank the employees." A listening tour through the federal bureaucracy? Zzzzzz...... She even wore uninteresting clothes. According to a Wednesday pool report, an aide removed a print scarf before Michelle entered HUD—leaving the usually fashion-forward first lady in a plain gray suit and purple top. It looked like the White House was making a very conscious effort to put Michelle right into the classic first lady part. Except that during each televised stop, Michelle spent most of her appearance pushing Obama's stimulus plan, selling the bill as a way to prevent everything from rising heating costs to homelessness.
This seems like an unusual—and almost subversive—use of the role for a first lady to make such a direct political appeal. Can you imagine Laura Bush stopping by the State Department to push the war in Iraq?
Of course, there are some compelling political reasons for the new White House to at least put up the facade of playing it traditional. A slew of new books about the first lady and a rumored Vogue cover are in the works over the next few months. Her heightened profile will paint a huge target on her for the administration's political enemies. Still, the obvious subtext of this week's stops was for Michelle to do some heavy politicking. What do you think, XX? I know you've worried over the first lady role and stuck up for Michelle's feminist cred. Is she starting to expand the first lady role?
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