Maybe I'm totally weird on this. But when I hear someone say "You look smart today" or "Don't you look smart", I don't think they are referring to my intelligence.

To look smart can also mean to look dashing or extremely neat or trim in appearance. It also means looking sophisticated or fashionable.

So, where I do see the oddness of that tagline, I don't think it is necessarily only saying you look "intelligent" with bigger boobs.

i just love the line about big boobs only affecting the intelligence of those looking at them... a great way of putting it. given my natural shape, i'm generally assumed to be a dimwit - this might serve as a good comeback.

I encourage everyone to read the comments at Pandagon. Evaluate for yourself how pro-sex they are. How non-judgmental they are. Determine for yourself if they believe a woman (or a man) should really be in control of their body.

Some lovely comments go to the tune of, "you're better off spending the money for implants on therapy!", and even this one, "eww, why do men like breasts, do they want a mother or a lover?"

Watch them be schooled by actual women telling them that breast implants can be empowering.

Want to seem smarter Catherine Price? Try thinking without getting your talking points from Amanda Marcotte, who still thinks the Duke Students were guilty, and had it coming.

Aren't we past the "oh, I don't own a TV" trope? Once you dropped that piece of science, I assumed you were going to be linking to a commercial, not a glorified banner ad.

Regardless... it's the same industry trick as showing smokers romping in the woods; if an advertiser can put up an alluring enough mirror, the customer will dress to match. Twenty coffin nails a day makes me a craggy, self-assured cowboy? Sign me the fuck up, please.

I see the Allergan ad as tapping into the mild American delusion that it's how you feel inside that determines who you are. You like your new C-cup? Then you must feel more attractive as a woman, as a person, and if you're that high on yourself, you must also be interesting, hard-working, successful, and intelligent too. It's basically a Mentos ad, only the Mentos are filled with a viscous gel and could induce capsular contracture. Pandagon has it right: with as much bad medical press as silicone implants have gotten in recent years, even if your bigger breasts somehow say "smarter," your purchase says "idiot".

I'm with RoonieRoo, I think they are using smart in the sense of good appearance, not of intelligence.

I've never thought larger breasts made a women seem less intelligent, but I would make an exception for surgically enhanced versions. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of breasts, but artificial implants are gross and creepy. While good ones might fool the casual observer, once the secret is out, they actually make the person look rather unattractive - on the inside.

I think the intention is a play on words; smart has a double meaning, the english use the term 'smart' to mean 'well put together' or looking nice. "aren't you smartly dressed!".

If women want to get breast implants, fine. But be honest about it - to say they 'boost my self esteem' is ridiculous. If you had real self esteem you wouldn't feel you neeed bigger breasts to have more self esteem. The world is full of guys who worship small breasts over large. The world is full of gorgeous women whose small breasts in no way detract from the public agreement on their gorgeousness. If a woman with smaller breasts can't appreciate these facts, she's far from having high self esteem. She has other-directed esteem, other being, people who think larger breasts are sexier, more womanly, younger, whatever - than small breasts.

Your thinking is a little off here.... I have heard that being blonde will make you seems dumber, and I've heard glasses make you look smarter, I've never heard big boobs=dumb...

If I could go back in time that's what I would shoot for. Bimbo trumps all.

Nobody cares if a woman is smart. She only has to be hot.

I thought the ad was targeting someone who has already decided they want implants and is showing why Allergan silicone implants are the "smart choice". I'm not indorsing the ad by any means, just sharing my take on what I thought the message was.

Anonymous writes: “I thought the ad was targeting someone who has already decided they want implants and is showing why Allergan silicone implants are the "smart choice".

I wondered about this too, Allergan as being the gold standard for safe, effective implants. But then I started imaging women walking around with “Allergan” stamped on their boobs like they’re designer bags. Oops. Unintentional pun.

The ad is confusing and surprising and makes you stop and think. Which is a great way to build brand recognition.

Must be a very slow day at Broadsheet. Anyways, I think this actually refers to the fact that you can now (once again) get the vastly superior silicone breast implants -- the ones that were banned for years, apparently unnecessarily -- instead of saline filled implants.

Though implants are not anything I ever wanted or considered, I understand from friends that the saline implants were a very poor substitute that didn't look or feel like natural breast tissue. Therefore, I think it's pretty obvious the ad refers to being "smart" about choosing the superior product -- not that bigger breasts make you look smarter.

For that matter, they do not make you look dumber. Anymore than any cosmetic procedure! it's just a personal choice. If you WANT larger breasts, and it's YOUR choice (and not some jerk boyfriend pressuring you) and you can afford it, then why not? As surgery goes, this is very safe and generally has good results if you have a good plastic surgeon...furthermore, it is one of those things that, if you do not like it, you can have it undone (unlike, say, breast reduction).

It's interesting, though, that this raises a lot of women's hackles, like Ms. Price. Is it because larger breasts perhaps give some women a competitive advantage in attracting male partners? Because otherwise, why on earth would you care what another woman has stuffed inside her chest? The same sort of person, I guess, who objects to a woman acquiring artificial large breasts usually is all gung-ho for a transsexual doing far more dramatic and non-reversible surgery, like amputating their penis. Why is it OK for a transsexual to acquire breasts that nature never intended him to have, but NOT OK for a woman to add a little more tissue where she feels it would be more attractive?

I also don't think you would get this reaction if it was silicone added to a woman's butt, or fat cells lipo'ed out of her upper arms, or any other of the 101 plastic surgical things you can do to yourself, if you have the money. Something about breasts makes women very catty and competitive with one another....and it's kinda stupid and immature....and maybe it's time we agreed to stop doing it?