" height="364"><In all of my ads that I chose the main focus is of course, what is considered beautiful? Women have a lot of pressure to look a certain way because of what is portrayed in the media; magazines, bill boards, t.v. commercials etc. My first ad is one that makes you thinner. It says that it'll make you drop 3 dress sizes in 10 minutes. Well of course everyone will want to know immediately that it is that'll do exactly that. As you look at the ad, you don't see over-weight, bigger, or curvier models in it. You see a very thin beautiful female model and an attractive, fit male model. So how does that work? These people are already thin, of course they don't want to put bigger, or over-weight people in the ads, because it's what they want to be, not what they already are.
The next ad is a Nivea anti-wrinkle eye creme. Well the model in this ad doesn't have wrinkles around her eyes therefore she is beautiful. "Beauty is more Nivea" is what the text says at the top. So by saying that you are only beautiful if you have MORE Nivea, meaning that if you buy their products.
The third image is a Victoria Secret Ad. Once again being thin, and having nice long legs, and flawless skin is beautiful. Also wearing their brand also makes you more sexy and beautiful because these models are sexy and beautiful and you will be too IF you buy their brand.
My next two ads are different from the ones before and its a movement that is slowly picking up in the media, though at times it gets criticized and is somewhat controversial.
My fourth ad is a dove commercial showing what the process is in making someone look "beautiful" or "flawless". There is a lot of make up being used to cover up her imperfections, then her hair is curled and last but not least she gets photo shopped. Even though they went through the process of making her flawless with all the make-up, she is gorgeous, but they take it further by altering her face, smoothing pores etc. Dove uses this tactic to show that the women you see in ads, and magazines are't real because they go through this evolution of looking beautiful.
In the last ad it is another Dove ad. It is a picture of "real" women, not the skinny models that everyone is used to seeing. Again Dove is showing that being thin isn't the only thing that is beautiful. They use the text "real curves" which majority of women can relate to, more then the thin models. Now this is one of the genius ideas that dove has to reach a wider "real" audience. They use the insecurities that all women have and turn it into something positive, something not to be ashamed of. Where they can look in the mirror and see that they are beautiful.
An ad that can really go well with these is one with anorexic women that are portrayed as beautiful, but also sets a bad example to young girls that think skinny is the way to go. This also goes for men that have no self-confidence because of their body. Whether they're fat, or too skinny, advertisements such as these make them feel less beautiful than others,but also gives them hope that by buying the product being advertised, things will go well. I also like how the Dove ad tries to portray itself as being a good product for every race, and skin color. This also gets them many consumers from different races.
ReplyDeleteI especially like the Dove ads that you chose! When I watched the evolution video showing what 'really' goes in to some advertisements I was shocked- I had no idea that the visual images we encounter each day are that photoshopped. I always knew that magazine pictures and ads weren't natural but elongating the neck? Making the woman look like a different person? That's just selling a product that doesn't exist. For the mainstream companies that employ these tactics, it seems to be a successful marketing technique because the consumer will always strive to be the impossible, meaning the product will continue to be bought. I'm glad that powerful, influential companies like Dove are raising awareness for 'true beauty'.
ReplyDeleteGreat. Connects much with our topics for this week. 1. Notice the male gaze in the first image. It's a weight loss ad in which both a man and a woman are featured, but see how the woman is looking at us while the man is looking at the woman.
ReplyDelete2. Like I mentioned to others, make sure to link the way that beauty is presented with the product in the explicit visual rhetoric of the ad.
3. Pay attention to what in the ad *makes* the models "beautiful." You've mentioned skinny, but there are a lot more visual cues. Look at their poses, where they are located in the visual space, facial expressions etc.
I must admit, I am astonished at how many advertisements I see like your first one in magazines and on TV. I am wondering how exactly the media has convinced so many people that one can lose weight without exercising. More specifically, the time frames are also ridiculous. Advertisements like your first one usually claim that you can lose weight in (at least) less than 2 weeks--usually an even more narrow time frame.
ReplyDeleteIt just seems really silly to me. It's simple logic that one needs to work-out in order to lose fat. This takes at least a couple months, though. It cannot be done in a healthy manner in less than that amount of time (unless you're looking to only lose about 5 pounds).
I like your topic though. It's interesting to see different perspectives on what people think beauty is and how it plays a role on women in society.
I think that image is something that women struggle with all the time. The pressure to be beautiful, thin, have clear skin etc. Women spend thousands and thousands of dollars beauty products, hair products, body creams even plastic surgery. I like the Dove campaign because it goes against everything we see on media about the typical beautiful woman. It has its; flaws but its a good way to sell its products.
ReplyDelete