Representation Analysis

In the first advertisement I watched, it was a tide commercial for a girl who seems to be pretty messy and a bit wreck less. This advertisement made it come off as if though it was a bad thing to not be the stereotypic girl that likes pink and is very neat. It stereotypes the expectations of what a girl should be like and how she should behave. The commercial made the girl appear as an outcast because she seemed to not like pink and wear darker colors. The commercial targeted the stereotype in women that they are not supposed to like cars or anything messy, while the little girl is fascinated by it. Problems with audiences being exposed to such commercials is that, it creates certain standards in society and if you don’t meet up to the expectations, you’re considered an outcast or looked upon as a weird individual. It’s bad because many begin to marginalize and oppress each other for being different. In the second advertisement I watched, it was an axe commercial in which they made a man seem irresistible because of his smell. This commercial created certain stereotypic expectations of women in society. For example, every woman in the video has a skinny body and have similar characteristics, therefore implying that the only way to obtain such beauty, is to fulfill those standards. It also implies that only a man with such masculinity and such looks could obtain beautiful women. Possible effects of people who view these ads is that they may feel forced to live up to or look up to those standards. It may make it seems as if though one type of race, type of body or physical feature is superior to the other. It divides society as a whole, and makes it look as a competition between young women as to who can obtain “natural beauty” expectations.