As seen on TV!
Welcome to the world of advertising, where it doesn't really matter if you have weak bladder control because all you need is a revolutionary panty liner thanks to which you'll be able to continue with your normal life, a world in which your clothes' colors will improve wash after wash thanks to intelligent powders, the same world where your hair never looked as strong and shiny as it does now. Needless to say, you are full of energy, now that you discovered that probiotic drink, and your kids are feeling much more confident now with that new pair of sneakers everybody in their class is talking about.
Such a description could go on for ages, as advertising adapts itself on the basis of common people's desires, somehow trying to standardize people's lifestyles in order to make the already slight difference between need and desire even slighter and almost unintelligible, so that profits can be bigger.
Canadian writer Stephen Butler Leacock (1869 - 1944) once said: "Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it", and it seems like not much has changed since the last century, as the present-day world of advertising is filled with airheads living in a fake world - especially when it comes to detergent commercials. Here housewives become the real symbol of brainwashed consumerism: they talk to brooms, they look at their happiest when they iron clothes, they often dance after cleaning the floor and are skilled chefs when it comes to cooking, but only thanks to the ready-made sauce which saves the day - or the date, when it comes to dinners for two. And then comes the rest of the family: successful and handsome men who are always home for lunch and dinner and who never miss breakfast with the whole family. And what is most important is the fact that they never hurry to work – and why would they? There are neither traffic jams nor problems with finding where to park their clean, tidy and brand new cute cars.
So much for the family category, advertisements also focus on kids, youth and singles, and in all categories there are differences, it all depends on whether the target is female or male. Even though advertisements for kids might be of great help to understand how influential advertising is on people, we will now particularly focus on gender differences in advertising: it is actually quite easy to realize that the main difference between what appeals to women and what appeals to men is in both cases related to the presence of the opposite sex, but in different ways, because whereas men need women, women seem to be able to do without men.
A very good example can be found in shaving and depilatory products commercials: Venus by Gillette invites all women to shave their legs and armpits with their products to “reveal the goddess” in them, Veet encourages women to “feel desirable” and to “get gorgeous”, by even asking whether their skin is “touchable”, thus introducing the possibility to be appealing to men through having a flawlessly hairless skin. It is thus independence, striking beauty and the freedom to choose what is really emphasized for women in such advertisements.
But when it comes to men, the same brands suggest the fact that a man with smooth skin and hairless back is always popular (and successful) among women, by always showing sexy ladies caressing their bodies and faces, sometimes by even kissing them right after shaving. And that is because it is common thinking considering that men need a reason for caring about their physical appearance (and getting girls is definitely one). In the early eighties a breakthrough aftershave ad showed a very handsome man’s body with a girl’s hand slowly hugging him and trying to undo his shirt. At that moment the man’s hand would grab the girl’s one and a voice would say “Denim. For men who don’t have to try too hard”. We might say that this is the ancestor of the present day masculine imagery in most advertisements.
Needless to say it is definitely not the way things are, and it is not even correct supposing that this is the way everybody would love to be. Some brands got that, proposing unusual ads which turned out to be partial spoofs of most gender stereotypes in advertisement. The quintessential example of this is AXE deodorants: by simply using a bit of axe deodorant, the male characters of these ads get literally stalked and almost raped by all the women (and sometimes even by all the men) they have around them.
In terms of sales, axe deodorants are among the most sold on the planet, its adverts are considered fun, thus not vulgar, and the introduction of the theme of homosexuality let in some fresh air for the viewers. Besides, their intentional exaggeration represented a successful and at the same time fun critic towards traditional advertising, which depicted a too utterly lobotomized society.
In conclusion, believe it or not, it is not the shampoo nor the aftershave what will make you successful, only what is underneath it all will. But meantime get gorgeous, because you are worth it!
