Tide Ad
Gender representation has, in the past, almost always placed women and girls into one category: ultrafeminine. Commonly seen in the branding of toys or clothes, girls are pushed towards colors like pink/purple which society has deemed gender specific. Today people are getting better at reducing this stereotype in media by showing women and young girls doing more than just playing with dolls or doing household chores. Tide is a detergent company that used an advertisement strongly reinforcing the ultrafeminine stereotype.
This ad blatantly uses gender stereotypes in order to promote the power of Tide detergent. A mother, seen in a pink dress, surrounded by a pink and purple living room speaks about her daughter who is playing on the floor with blocks. The mother is sitting formally with her hands clasped and her legs tucked to the side, almost like out of the 1950s. Her stereotypical appearance severely contrasts that of her daughter who wears a camouflage jacket and shorts. The commercial makes the girl seem not as feminine as her mother because she is not wearing pink and the ad takes this a step further when at the end of the ad the mother asks her daughter if she is building a “car garage” a stereotypical masculine space. There is an enormity of problems with this ad. Girls who see this may think it is not ideal to dress like the girl in the ad and more like the mother who is in pink. Conforming to society’s will, girls may feel obligated to not dress a certain way because of this production.
H&M Ad
Different groups, especially minorities like African Americans and members of the LGBT community have long been portrayed as negative and one dimensional in media. History casts an ugly light on past representation. The fit, able bodied white man and the skinny, attractive white woman have long been industry standards when it comes to important roles in media. This ad by H&M for their new clothing recycling program defies the norm by showing people from all walks of life, something that hasn’t been common until recently.
In the ad, fashion is presented as a way to express yourself, as it should be. The narrator goes through several short clips of different people wearing clothes that are unique to them. This ad shows people that it is ok to be who you are, that you should strive to be whoever you want to be unapologetically. The ad challenges gender stereotypes by showing a man in pink and a woman wearing blue, switching the association of colors for these two genders. This ad could definitely impact people in a positive way because they could see this ad and believe that it is ok to stay true to yourself. While the stereotype smashing ad wasn't about representation (it was about recycling) it is important to realize that more commercials like these could pave the way for a future where stereotypes aren't so heavily relied on in the media.
Gender representation has, in the past, almost always placed women and girls into one category: ultrafeminine. Commonly seen in the branding of toys or clothes, girls are pushed towards colors like pink/purple which society has deemed gender specific. Today people are getting better at reducing this stereotype in media by showing women and young girls doing more than just playing with dolls or doing household chores. Tide is a detergent company that used an advertisement strongly reinforcing the ultrafeminine stereotype.
This ad blatantly uses gender stereotypes in order to promote the power of Tide detergent. A mother, seen in a pink dress, surrounded by a pink and purple living room speaks about her daughter who is playing on the floor with blocks. The mother is sitting formally with her hands clasped and her legs tucked to the side, almost like out of the 1950s. Her stereotypical appearance severely contrasts that of her daughter who wears a camouflage jacket and shorts. The commercial makes the girl seem not as feminine as her mother because she is not wearing pink and the ad takes this a step further when at the end of the ad the mother asks her daughter if she is building a “car garage” a stereotypical masculine space. There is an enormity of problems with this ad. Girls who see this may think it is not ideal to dress like the girl in the ad and more like the mother who is in pink. Conforming to society’s will, girls may feel obligated to not dress a certain way because of this production.
H&M Ad
Different groups, especially minorities like African Americans and members of the LGBT community have long been portrayed as negative and one dimensional in media. History casts an ugly light on past representation. The fit, able bodied white man and the skinny, attractive white woman have long been industry standards when it comes to important roles in media. This ad by H&M for their new clothing recycling program defies the norm by showing people from all walks of life, something that hasn’t been common until recently.
In the ad, fashion is presented as a way to express yourself, as it should be. The narrator goes through several short clips of different people wearing clothes that are unique to them. This ad shows people that it is ok to be who you are, that you should strive to be whoever you want to be unapologetically. The ad challenges gender stereotypes by showing a man in pink and a woman wearing blue, switching the association of colors for these two genders. This ad could definitely impact people in a positive way because they could see this ad and believe that it is ok to stay true to yourself. While the stereotype smashing ad wasn't about representation (it was about recycling) it is important to realize that more commercials like these could pave the way for a future where stereotypes aren't so heavily relied on in the media.
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