Did Gisele Just Admit That Ads Are Unrealistic?

Model Gisele Bündchen says that perfume advertising can be “unattainable.” Photo: Karwai Tang/Getty Images

Just one week after the premiere of her Chanel No. 5 campaign, Gisele is speaking out about truth in advertising.

Well, sort of.

"Sometimes I feel like adverts like this can make women feel so distant,” the model told The Sunday Times Magazine. “They are so glamorous and so unattainable and so aspirational that you really can’t touch them, in a way. They are kind of a dream.”

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She points to her Chanel campaign as a more relatable (if admittedly luxurious) representation of the modern woman. “Of course she’s glamorous—she is powerful and successful—but she is also struggling,” Bündchen said. “She’s a mother, a wife, and a professional. She’s juggling all of that, and you know that’s not easy.”

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Online critics have raised eyebrows at Bündchen talking about “unattainable” beauty, all while she appears in a multi-million dollar perfume campaign. And it’s a fair point: She’s disarmingly beautiful, extremely wealthy, and acting in a short film that veers closer to fantasy than reality for most women.

But let’s pause for a moment to pay attention to what Bündchen is really saying. While her character does have an embarrassment of riches—the seaside home, the cherubic daughter, the vintage convertible, the disarmingly handsome partner—she also seems to experience the stress and pressure of “having it all.” And what woman can’t relate to that feeling?

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Sure, most of us don’t spend our mornings riding waves on a Chanel surfboard, and it’s a rarified few who earn their living through modeling. But while such scenes might not be in line with most women’s lives, it’s a little bit comforting to imagine that even Gisele Bündchen—or, at least, the character she plays—is hustling to get through the day, too.