Breast Billboard a Boon or Bust to Business?

A recent billboard in Riverside County in California that advertised breast augmentation surgery did not go over well with one student at Murrieta High School. The billboard declared that “bigger is better” and showed a “B” sized coffee cup next to a much larger “D” sized coffee cup. The coffee cups were on either side of the words “size matters”.

The billboard was placed by Dr. Brian Eichenberg of Renuance Cosmetic Surgery Center. Dr. Eichenberg says the surgery is his most popular procedure but Anna Gorski, a sophomore at Murrieta High School, says the ad offended her. In response to the billboard, she started a petition to have it taken down. According to the 15-year-old student on Change.org, the billboard “is demeaning, objectifying, and inappropriate as it attacks women’s bodies and promotes low self-esteem.” She further stated that she does not “need a billboard to compare my breasts to coffee cups and tell me that their proportional sizes matter.”

However, Dr. Eichenberg argues that plastic surgery is a positive thing that helps women have a better feeling about their appearance. He says that the majority of his clients are women with kids looking to get their bodies back to how they appeared before having their children. Since his office does surgery on women all day long, he sees his practice as being positive towards women. The doctor claims that the ad was meant to poke fun at the values of society and was liked by hundreds of people. Gorski said she understands the doctor has every right to place an ad on a billboard but it shouldn’t be in a public spot where women, families and young girls can easily see it.

In response to the uproar over the billboard, the doctor put up a new sign that said “Stop making mountains out of molehills. Leave that to us.” While the doctor still thought his first sign was clever and funny, he also thought there needed to be some kind of response to the argument over the sign.

He did get a strong response to the second sign with one male caller leaving a voicemail that said “when you say size matters that means that I should bring a large caliber weapon. I’ll see you soon, Brian.” Needless to say, the doctor considered this a threat and called the police after receiving the voicemail.

In general, the public reaction to the signs have been divided with some people supporting his right to put up the signs while others find the billboards in poor taste. Even with the controversy, Eichenberg says business is good and many people have told him they plan on going to him if they ever need plastic surgery.

- MA