Mark Eden bust developer

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British actor Mark Eden has nothing to do with this.
The Mark Eden bust developer was widely advertised in women's magazines of the 1960s and 1970s.
The Mark Eden bust developer was widely advertised in women's magazines of the 1960s and 1970s.

The Mark Eden bust developer was a device and regimen sold by the Mark Eden company of San Francisco, California, that promised to enlarge a woman's breasts. The product was widely marketed in women's magazines during the 1960s and 1970s, making claims such as, "For thousands, Mark Eden has transformed flat bustlines into firm, shapely fullness."

Contents

[edit] The product

The product consisted of a regimen of exercises using a device with a spring to provide resistance, designed to enlarge the pectoral muscles and latissimus dorsi, which could increase the circumference of the exerciser's bustline without actually enlarging breasts.[1] Spokeswomen for the product included June Wilkinson, the Playboy centerfold.[2]

[edit] Mail fraud

During the time the Mark Eden business was in operation, the United States Postal Service repeatedly attempted to shut the business down, claiming that its advertising was false and misleading. Protracted litigation between the Mark Eden business and the Postal Service was the result, leading to a consent decree, which the Postal Service later claimed had been violated.[3] The decision of the U.S. Postal Service was overturned on appeal.[4] The Mark Eden bust developer was one of several body and exercise products marketed by Jack Feather, who also sold various other slimming and body modification products such as Slim-Jeans, an Astro-Trimmer, and a Sauna Belt. Finally, in 1981, Feather was indicted on 11 counts of mail fraud, and the Mark Eden bust developer and the other products disappeared from the market. Feather was made to pay a $1.1 million dollar fine.[5][6]

[edit] Impact

Screenwriter Nora Ephron wrote of her experiences with the Mark Eden bust developer in an essay, "A Few Words about Breasts", originally published in Esquire in 1972; the essay appears in her collection Crazy Salad.[7] Lenny Bruce incorporated the device into his comedy routine; a recorded performance is included in the retrospective collection Let the Buyer Beware.[8] The Mark Eden advertisements have been cited as examples of misleading language in advertisements by educators who seek to improve critical thinking skills.[9]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "You must, you must, work to support bust", Oakland Tribune, Aug. 7, 2005, accessed May 1, 2008. See also, In the Matter of the Complaint Against ISO-TENSOR PLAN, United States Postal Service, Docket No. 3/30.
  2. ^ Pop Culture Matters
  3. ^ United States Postal Service: In the matter of the charges that MARK EDEN at San Francisco, California, is engaged in conducting a scheme for obtaining money through the mails in violation of the Affidavit of Discontinuance executed by the Respondent on January 30, 1967. P.O.D. Docket No. 2/204
  4. ^ Mark Eden v. Lee, 433 F.2d 1077 (9th Cir., 1970)
  5. ^ Laura Fraser, Ten Pounds in Ten Days: A Sampler of Diet Fads and Abuse, (2002), accessed May 1, 2008.
  6. ^ Joseph F. Mullen, Strength Training for Women Only, p. 29. (iUniverse, 2003; ISBN 059528017X)
  7. ^ Nora Ephron, "A Few Words about Breasts", in Crazy Salad (Modern Library, 2000: ISBN 0-679-64035-5)
  8. ^ Lenny Bruce, "Toilets/Flashers/Mark Eden Bust Developer", in Let the Buyer Beware, disc 5, track 15 (Shout! Factory, 2004, sound recording)
  9. ^ D. G. Kehl, "How to Read an Ad: Learning to Read between the Lies", in The English Journal, Vol. 72, No. 6 (Oct., 1983), pp. 32-38.