Yoplait Yanks Ad in Light of Language Thought to Trigger Eating Disorders

After complaints from the National Eating Disorders Association, Yoplait has pulled an ad that "contained language NEDA says is a trigger for those most vulnerable" to eating disorders.

The offending commercial features a woman debating and bargaining with herself about eating a piece of cheesecake, eventually opting for Yoplait's lo-cal cheesecake-flavored yogurt.

In a press release, Lynn Grefe, president and CEO of NEDA explains: "The language in this advertising campaign was seriously problematic for those affected by eating disorders and anyone who may have a predisposition towards developing one. We applaud Yoplait and General Mills for taking the time to speak with us, listening to our concerns and their quick action to provide a solution. I believe the company had no intent to harm and gained insight into a very serious issue that we hope will influence their marketing decisions in the future."

Progress? Hopefully. We've got a long history of food advertisements encouraging disordered eating.

Sugar-Free Tab: Forty years ago, did anyone bat an eye at a diet soda commercial that leveled the threat of abandonment to wives who dared to not keep a good shape?

Carvel Thinny-Thin: What about in the early 1980s, when a smug-sounding woman called out an ice cream-loving man for being a fatty-fat?

Surely things are better now, right?