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February 13, 2006

Massage In The Media

I always perk up when I see massage in television commercials. I pay attention to these sightings for several reasons. First, it reflects the awareness of massage in our society. The more images I see, the more I know massage is on the mind of the general public.

Second, it's amusing, and sometimes frustrating, to see how massage is depicted. Burly therapists brutalizing hairy clients draped in towels reminds me of Moe Green's final scene in The Godfather movie. It is not only funny, but antiquated.

One travel agency ad actually touts massage as a destination draw, but shows the therapist using horrible body mechanics while working on a client. Another ad (I can't remember the advertiser) finally seemed to get the mood, the therapist, and the intent behind massage right. The final shot in the ad was a close up of the therapists beautifully manicured hands with long, painted acrylic fingernails! Ha ha ha!

Sadly, the most offensive ad comes from a local college which advertises their massage therapy program. The blond spokeswoman talks about a career in massage therapy saying "our graduates have that special touch," while raising an eyebrow when she says the word "special." I blame not only the director of the ad, but the directors of the school for allowing the ad to run.

But, often the news media perpetuates the "back room" image of the massage profession. The news-worthiness of busting illicit massage venues is one thing, but when reporters continue to paint a picture of seedy massage practices to illustrate a point or a mood (see May 2004 post), they do the entire industry a disservice.

Luckily, the perception of the massage industry is improving despite the misguided imagery depicted on television.

Posted by linda at February 13, 2006 9:22 AM