Advertising

Part I:

Today I woke up and (like I always do) went on my phone. My routine usually consists of checking my texts, my Instagram and Snapchat feeds, and then watching a few Youtube videos if I am feeling extra lazy. Youtube is usually where I see the most ads throughout my day. Since today was a pretty laid back Sunday, I ended up checking Instagram and Snapchat a few more times throughout the day. Around noon I attempted to start my homework and then ended up procrastinating by scrolling on Netflix and eventually watching a few episodes of "The Office". After doing my homework for a little while, I drove to hang out with a friend and ended up listening to about an hours worth of my Spotify playlist.

In general, media plays a big part in my daily life. I use it to communicate and to educate myself, but primarily I use it when I am bored and/or want to procrastinate actual work. Instagram is my biggest time waster. Whenever I don't have any primary task at hand, or even when I do, I usually go onto Instagram for quite a while to pass the time. Consequently, in a lot of ways social media controls my life. Having an immediate source of entertainment such as Instagram, I tend to choose it over actual entertainment or human interaction. This leads to more anxiety and often depression as I find myself depending on my phone more and more.

Part II:

Dove "Beauty Pressure"
Greenpeace "Dove Onslaught(er)"
Rimmel "Own Your Individuality"

Dove's "Beauty Pressure" ad displayed the insecurities that come with the integration of beauty stereotypes into our modern society while Greenpeace's "Dove Onslaught(er)" ad responds to it with a mock ad that displays the environmental issues that the Dove company creates. Dove's "Beauty Pressure" ad begins with a close up on a young girl representing the sense of innocence that is often corrupted due to the beauty industry. As the music swells (creating a sense of anticipation and suspense in the viewer), the girl begins to smile only to be cut off by one quick flash after the other of shocking images. The viewer is bombarded with several clips of half naked girls, commercials promoting dieting and body image, and plastic surgery procedures to implement such changes. The use of rapid fire images and shocking ones at that, causes the viewer to become overwhelmed and instills an emotional reaction in all who watch it. After this drawn out period of sensory overload, the music slows and the same girl from the beginning of the ad appears, only this time, wearing a bright red lipstick. Finally the phrase "talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does" appears across the screen. As the ad is commenting on a large part of society it takes some of the more shocking aspects of the beauty industry to comment on the overall theme of self-esteem. Greenpeace's ad uses a similar tactic to retaliate against the Dove corporation to focus on a different issue of global importance. To demonstrate the abuse of palm oil in United States, specifically within the beauty industry, Greenpeace attacks Dove by creating a parody of the "Beauty Pressure" ad mocking the "Onslaught" slogan by referring to it as "Onslaught(er)". Beginning with a young Indonesian girl instead of a young white girl, the ad displays quick flashes of deforestation and dead animals in order to create a similar reaction in the viewer to that of the dove ad. Ending with the phrase "talk to Dove before it's too late", the ad directly calls out the Dove corporation as a whole. Was Dove attempting to appear wholesome and culturally conscious merely to increase sales or was its ad a genuine plea to improve society and self esteem in young and developing girls? Was Greenpeace's ad justified in calling out the hypocrisy of Dove's outward facade or was it distracting from the important message that Dove did demonstrate? While the intention of either of these companies may have been morally good, the audience's interpretation of any ad determine its morality and relevance.

While Dove and Greenpeace aimed to increase company support through the appeal of morals, Rimmel's "Own Your Individuality" ad strove to increase product sales with an uplifting and positive tone. While the previous ads used dramatic and shocking images to enhance their message, Rimmel demonstrates the fun of makeup and individuality through images of young women (and men) going to parties, smiling, and applying their products in many different ways. In correspondence, the ad uses exciting music and bright colors in order to demonstrate this. Except for the clip of a male using their makeup products, the ad remains for the most part politically neutral. This choice to include a male actor, in my opinion, was to give Rimmel a certain edgy or progressive appearance in order to emphasize the youthfulness of their brand.

While all of these ads represent different messages and themes, their ultimate goal is the same. Every ad is promoting something. Through the use of color, sound, and tone each of these ads highlights the positive aspects of their company, all the while attempting to instill a specific reaction in their viewer.