The Representation of the “Body Positive” Social Movement in Advertising Communication of Underwear Brands: Influence on the Brand Identity and Their Consumer’s Perception

Many product categories and brands have already fallen under the influence of the bodypositive social movement. Lots of clothing brands have been criticised, and mostly lingerie brands, which traditionally used “idealized” images of women in their communication, contributing to the establishment of conventionally accepted standards of beauty for women. Many Russian brands are still at a crossroads: on the one hand, they are condemned by the audience for promoting the idealized image of women in the masses; on the other hand, many people still do not accept bodypositive images and condemn the brands that use them for the promotion of unhealthy lifestyles. Moreover, the concepts of bodypositive often do not fit into the framework of the identity of many brands, which have embodied themselves in the form of ideal, “non-existent” girls for many years. It is still not clear which strategic and communication approach will provide the lingerie brand with a strong positive image among the audience. The purpose of this study is to research the experience of using bodypositive images by brands of women's underwear and to identify the features of their influence on the identity and image of brands of this product category. The first chapter is devoted to the theoretical aspects of the concepts of “image” and “identity” of a brand, as well as the socio-psychological characteristics of consumer perception of brands. In the second chapter, the problem of “idealized” images in advertising was researched and the consequences of the influence of the “bodypositive” social movement on the communication activity of brands were identified. An analysis of the women's underwear market was also carried out: key quantitative indicators of the market were examined and the main existing trends and directions of its development were identified. Also the analysis of the brand identity structure of the brand, which has implemented the body positive images in its communication strategy, was conducted. The third chapter presents the methodology of a multi-stage research of the influence of bodypositive images in the communication of women's underwear brands on consumer perception and the image of brands, the results obtained, as well as main conclusions and practical recommendations which have been made on the basis of the research work.