about it, these horrible stories or ex- periences surface. So part of it was just [finding a way to talk] about it in a fun, relatable way.” Women are tired of looking at unattainable bodies lounging on beds in expensive and uncomfortable lingerie. They want to see real women wearing really nice bras, and a little humor mixed in there doesn’t hurt. But Harper Wilde’s humor isn’t just any humor. “We think long and
hard about what our humor is. There isn’t just one version of humor; there’s crude humor, there’s slap-happy humor, and there’s smart, sophisticated, and witty humor. There are ways in which it can be empowering, and ways in which it can poke fun that’s, in our minds, crossing the line a bit,” says Jane. Harper Wilde uses humor to mitigate the negative impact of traditional advertising on body image and self-objectification.“ We make sure the humor is
done in an empowering way that’s sophisticated. It’s not crude and it’s not at all cutting anyone down, but rather it’s lifting everyone up in a way that we can all laugh together.” When a young girl sees a Victoria’s Secret ad, the first thing she notices is not how comfortable the bra looks. What she sees is an object of desire, staring her down through tousled hair and skimpy lingerie. In a Harper Wilde ad, she sees a woman who looks like her sister, her friend, and even herself,
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