What’s wrong with this ad? Take a minute and ponder what they are trying to sell you and what means they are using.
I’m not sure who this model is (she reminds me of Claudia Schiffer for some reason) but she definitely doesn’t have a single wrinkle, despite hawking “wrinkle de-crease collagen filler.” Not only does she appear too young to have wrinkles but she also has no wrinkles where even very young women have them (small ones at the corners of the eyes and mouth) suggesting airbrushing as well. What message does this send? That even airbrushed young models at the height of their beauty aren’t beautiful enough without this serum? Or perhaps they mean you to think that if you buy their product you can look like this model who is already younger than people who would be buying wrinkle cream and is not even real.
Turbo Jennie tipped me off on a website that is definitely worth checking out. About Face is a national campaign to combat the omnipresent messages fed to women (and particularly teen girls) by the media. They have a gallery of worst offenders (careful clicking through that link if you are at work) that is definitely an eye opener along with a gallery of winners that will lift your spirits. You can even nominate your own worst or best ads (come on, you know you’ve seen some!)
I love their message and how they are going about counteracting the 400-600 (!!) negative body messages we get every day from the media. My fave is their “Stop Playing Barbie” t-shirt. They also have a great “making changes” section with lots of doable ideas how you can help the cause. This site is a must-read.
I am glad you shared this link! I have used the images from the “doll/mannequin” gallery in my college classes (particularly my visual literacy-focused courses), and students generally find them both repulsive and seductive at the same time. Many of the women feel deep internal conflicts, since aspiring to become a “living doll” has been ingrained in them from a young age. Great post! Thanks for getting this information out there!
Karrie – I’m so glad you show these to your students! I wasn’t introduced to the idea of analyzing advertisments until a marketing class in college and I was completely blown away by all the subversive advertising out there. I try and teach my students & high school girls I work with this as well – get the word out younger!