Signalling Virtue

This week has been marred by controversy surrounding a campaign by Protein World, in which posters of a thin, fit woman with the tagline: “Are You Beach Body Ready?” were used to advertise weight loss formula in London.

Unsurprisingly, the posters received backlash from those who believed they glorified an unhealthy perception of what a ‘beach body’ should look like. However, this perception has been around for decades, so why is this comparatively tame iteration receiving so much negative attention?

This backlash in particular is a great example of the snowball effect that online campaigning produces. And, like most anti-normative protests, is indicative of a particular type of status-seeking known as virtue signalling.

In short, virtue signalling is a way of communicating to others how good we are, and is often used in place of tangible contributions to whatever plight we are sympathetic toward. Most awareness campaigns fall into this category.

This is exemplified in the response to Protein World’s advertising. Activists have defaced the posters with messages of goodwill and outrage, and an online petition has gained almost 50,000 supporters.

Not to say that activism of this sort is ineffective. If it receives significant attention, it is often successful, but it must receive significant attention in the first place. Activism that doesn’t, no matter how objectively important or serious, fails quickly.

We like being seen as virtuous, but simply saying so would not be convincing enough to earn validation from others, so we pair it with the relatively intangible act of drawing attention to something that, in our eyes, warrants action from someone other than ourselves.

And what easier way to do that than by writing something on a wall and standing in front of it while throwing up a gang sign, posting the photo online for the world to see and 'like'.

The problem with campaigning born from status-seeking is twofold. Firstly, it can backfire to such an extent that protests against a company create sufficient exposure to promote it further.

This is because when it comes to advertising, controversy equals exposure, and any exposure is good exposure.

Secondly, the status-seeking element can suppress the original message of the campaign. When virtue signalling becomes more important than the campaign itself, the message is lost, and any attempts to expand upon its meaning are often short-lived.

It is arguable whether this is occurring in the movement against Protein World, but safe to say, there are already disagreements among activists as to what the protest is actually representing.

Unfortunately, this is all too common among mass movements that have evolved from communicating a message to signalling our own virtue.

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