"The Lolita Effect"

It has become very common to use the idea of "The Lolita Effect" as a popular advertising technique in today's culture. The basis of this idea seems to focus on using the pretense of "young" or "innocent" looking girls to evoke both sexuality and desire. In this advertisement for Vogue Italia, modeled by Kate Moss, Kate is depicted as presenting the idea of the Lolita-esque beauty. Though Kate Moss was into her twenties when she posed for these pictures, the idea of the advertisement was to play up her youngness, posing her in frilly pink dresses and big satin bows - articles typically associated with young girls. The aim of all advertising is to play on the consumers wants and needs - to get them to buy the product that is being sold. Vogue Italia's method of advertising Kate Moss as a Lolita-type girl is no different. This method of advertising has been labeled both attractive and effective by the media and other sources of expoitation. This type of advertising manilpulates the innocence of young girls to be equated with sexual desire. It is also aimed at a much older audience than one would generally find appropriate, however, it is deemed "okay" so long as it is glamorized and glorified through the world of advertising.

Questions to ask ourselves: How and why did this idea of the "Lolita Effect" come into play in popular culture? Where can advertisers draw the line from "effective" to "offensive" or is there a line at all?