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sponsorship
More fun with press releases! We got a bulletin this afternoon announcing that the celebrity spokeswoman for Pantene's new Pro-V Nature Fusion line is none other than Top Chef hostess and beloved dingbat, Padma Lakshmi. With its minty color scheme and promise of "naturally derived" ingredients, Pantene is pushing the green angle pretty hard. (The word "natural" appears eight times in the 12-sentence press release, and that's not even counting the number of times they name-check the product itself.) Forget the fact that words like "natural" and "organic" are bogus when it comes to shampoo. The kicker, for me, was this line:
Because of Padma’s unique natural beauty and strong Indian roots, she is the perfect representative of the Nature Fusion collection, which key active ingredient is the India-derived Cassia seed.
I think it's kind of funny that Padma got the gig because she, like the Cassia seed, is India-derived. (Reminds me of those great Levy's ads from the '70s.) But what exactly do natural and unique mean in this context? Is she natural because she's from India, like yoga? Is it because she's ethnic? Because I'd say Lakshmi—like most gorgeous models—is about as unnatural looking as you can get. And "unique"? She's beautiful in the most classical sense imaginable. (Unlike, say, past spokeswoman Stacy London, who looks like a superhot witch.)
Quibbling with the marketing department aside, I do want hair like hers, so I guess that's what counts. Though I take umbrage at the description of her as "the first international Indian supermodel." Does no one remember Persis Khambatta?