“TOUGH times call for beautiful measures” - the slogan used in Belo’s pandemic effect campaign video. Changes are inevitable to happen during the pandemic. People go through different physical, emotional, and mental challenges. The pandemic made people focus on more important responsibilities in order to survive and tend to forget about taking care of their overall well-being. However, the pandemic is not the time to set up beauty standards and shame people on gaining weight, acne breakouts, body hair, and other physical changes that are, in fact, normal to the human body.

#PandemicEffect

#PandemicEffect was first used in a social media campaign by Belo Medical Group (BMG) to encourage people to share their own stories and experiences during the pandemic. Some famous celebrities such as Gabbi Garcia, Francine Diaz, and Khalil Ramos joined the movement. The #PandemicEffect posts were not only limited to talking about the body and facial changes, but also their own reflections and realizations during the pandemic. In their own respective captions, they gave positive advice and reminders to inspire other people. 

What Went Wrong

BMG collaborated with GIGIL Group, an advertising agency, to create a video about the pandemic effect or what people experienced during the pandemic. On Aug. 10, they released a video about a woman going through a physical transformation during the pandemic. The woman gained weight, grew body hair, and suffered from an acne breakout while being stuck at home, watching television. Viewers were disturbed and enraged after watching the video as it was labeled as an insensitive advertisement. BMG received criticisms because of how they negatively depicted the image of a woman. 

The Aftermath

A day after, BMG took down the video from their social media accounts and addressed an apology about the video, admitting its mistakes and shortcomings in creating the advertisement. “We apologize about our recent Pandemic Effect Film. Thank you for being gracious in letting us know your thoughts about it,” Belo said in their Instagram post. They also assured the viewers that they have learned their lessons from the incident. 

Critiquing What Went Wrong

Creating an advertisement that misrepresents the life of women during the pandemic turned out to be a bigger disaster. The ad portrayed a negative message because it contradicts what the campaign stands for. Instead of actually comforting people who are going through physical changes during a tough time, the public thought that the ad had the audacity to set beauty standards and encourage people to alter their physical appearances. There is nothing wrong in choosing to undergo beauty treatments and procedures, but the manner in which it was disseminated seemed insensitive.

We live in a society wherein having acne, body hair, and different body types is considered normal. It is natural to experience physical transformations because we’re developing, especially in the adolescence stage. The #PandemicEffect had quite an impact, but in a negative way. Aside from body shaming, there’s a lot to address and focus on like the country’s fight against the virus, mental health awareness, failing economy, etc. It is also worth noting that every change is normal and beautiful.