Ads and Stereotypes

Do you think that advertisers have a moral duty to avoid stereotyping people?

Whether we like it or not, mass media and its eclectic portrayal of subjects substantially influences our perception of the world around us. In fact, advertising agencies are well aware of the incontrovertible authority of their advertisements and often this vulnerable actuality is exploited and capitalized on for the primary purpose of reaping financial gains. Stereotyping is only one of the plentitude of rhetoric employed by advertisers to appeal to their target audience and ultimately coax them towards a central product. Accordingly, sweeping generalizations are at the core of this device whereby a certain group of people is perpetually illustrated in a peculiar manner, independent of whether the depiction is accurate or not. For instance the portrayal of a male figure as the "breadwinner" juxtaposed with a quintessential stay-at-home wife looking after the children or perhaps highlighting the superiority of one race to another due to associative factors, essentially fall under the category of common stereotypes we are exposed to through mass media. 

Continual subjection to stereotypes perpetuated by media embeds in our minds a prejudice against those at the centre of the injustice and hence in my opinion, advertisers have a moral duty to avoid stereotyping people. It is incorrect to primarily misconstrue reality regarding a certain group of people, however what intensifies the doing more so is when the thin line between a stereotype and practicality become blurred in societal views. Often, humour is utilized as an excuse for such falsified portrayals despite the fact that an advertisers essence of humour may not align with a considerable segment of the viewership. With mass media, the audience being reached is too diverse to please everyone through restricted depictions. However, at the same time, advertisers need to keep in mind that ideologies promulgated in advertisements can have drastic consequences on  propelling or conversely hindering the overarching societal mentality on a subject, making it crucial for advertisers to be vigilant in the process of creating advertisements. 

Nivea Print Ad Response

The print advertisement assigned to my group was a Nivea ad illuminating the brand's new moisturizer as the principal product being endorsed. The ad itself was produced as a marker celebrating, as the top-left textual component explicitly states,100 years of Nivea. 

Whilst the ad can be viewed holistically to deduce its fundamental purpose, the intricate melange of elements that elevate the advertisement are critical in regards to the cultural, social and historical insights they collectively provide.

To primarily contextualize the production of the ad, the ad is a pivotal part of Nivea India's campaign celebrating the brand's 100th anniversary. The significance of this event is emphasized by having Anushka Sharma, a renowned Indian actress, as the fresh face of the campaign. Whilst having celebrities endorse products with the aim of appealing to a greater consumer base is a common technique employed by marketers, the choice of Anushka Sharma being the central figure in this campaign is even more pronounced as it sheds light on the Indian society's standards of 'ideal' beauty. Sharma, in India, is widely admired for her naturally attractive aesthetics and more so due to her skin tone being on the lighter end of the spectrum. The Indian society, although relatively less in contemporary times, continues to be submerged in a rigid mentality whereby fair skin, as opposed to darker skin, is beauteous and therefore grandly valued. This facet of a historically embedded Indian ideology is arrested and effectually woven into the advertisement as artificial light is shone on Sharma to accentuate to the viewer her flawless fair skin, which implicitly is attributed to the Nivea body lotion. 

The advertisement also, whether deliberately or not, captures the hypocritical dimension of the aforementioned ideology as the "fair skin is beautiful" notion is applicable fundamentally to Indian women and not necessarily the men. This contrast is clearly visible in the advertisement as Sharma's male model counterpart has a considerably darker skin tone and has yet been deemed as 'product-endorsing' worthy. This aspect further reveals the unrealistic societal expectations that Indian women continually battle with, starting at a very young age. A hint at gender roles in the Indian society is also apparent in the advertisement as, according to the ad, a woman is required to alter her physical appearance to be more desirable to a man. 

Interpreting the social context of the advertisement, the intimate atmosphere established by the positioning of the models essentially cements an associative link with the body lotion and finding a partner. In fact, it may also be implied that applying Nivea's body lotion could enhance a woman's appeal in a way to attract more men. Sharma's direct eye contact with the viewer complemented by an alluring simper echoes an assurance that any woman purchasing this product would be as beautiful and attractive as Sharma, and hence capable of attracting more men. 

On a more general scale, this advertisement effectively empowers young women, as Sharma, a beautiful young woman, dominates the advertisement in the entirety despite there being a man in the ad as well. However, more specifically, Indian women who share similar traits, predominantly in terms of having light-toned skin, are incontrovertibly empowered in this commercial as these physical features contribute dramatically to Sharma being the principal focal point in an advertisement promoting exquisite, flawless skin as a result of the brand's moisturizer. Conversely, the marginalized group would perhaps be darker skinned Indian women who do not align with the illustrated beauty standards as the limelight is beamed directly on a celebrity embodying society's paradigm of Indian beauty. 

Pitch Presentation Reflection

Group: Inspire Your Desire (Shriya, Luiza and Fleur)
Product: Casio Keytar

As tasked, the central aim of our pitch was to convince Casio that our advertising agency—Inspire Your Desire—was the perfect fit to promote their new product (the Keytar) on a grand scale. In order to do so, we strategically incorporated the elements of carefully crafted appeals and persuasive techniques that underpinned and therefore propelled our pitch.

For instance, in order to enhance the ethos rhetoric, we decided that it would be effective to kick-start the presentation with an introduction to the agency and its reputation through highlighting the prestigious international awards we had been recipients of for our incredible work in the advertising field. The intended aim of this choice was to primarily lay the accolade-winning foundation of our agency whilst simultaneously canvassing a reliable/trustworthy image to the client. Complimentarily, we also introduced the concept of having The Beatles endorse the Keytar in our advertisements which again was an undercurrent of the ethos appeal as having the potential to have The Beatles in our campaign accentuated the status and reach of our agency.

The significance behind including The Beatles as opposed to any other musical group as a part of our campaign was in pertinence to the context of our pitch being in the 1980s in the United Kingdom. The Beatles were a group that had gained immense popularity during this time frame and hence were the group chosen as even the Clients would (hopefully) have been aware of their grand fan base that could potentially translate to being a segment of the consumer base of the Keytar.

In terms of relaying the principal idea itself, selective diction was employed with the purpose of evoking specific emotions in the Client subject to our presentation. For example, using connotative phrases like "I guarantee" and "we know/can" essentially conveys the charismatic conviction of the agency in the entirety whilst appealing to the logic and reason of the Client. As a team, we also formulated a slogan—"Now be a Star with your very own Keytar"— to augment to the Client the fact that the agency was already one step ahead in the planning process and would immediately proceed with the campaign were they to employ us.

In terms of the persuasive techniques whilst actually presenting the pitch, what I tried to focus chiefly on was sincerely trying to be enthusiastic about the product. I personally believe that for a presentation to be successful, demonstrating confidence in the material being presented whilst at the same time successfully communicating an idea to your audience in a engaging manner, is of utmost importance. Thus, in order to fulfill these aspects of a successful presentation, several rhetorical questions such as "Sounds hyperbolized?" and "How could we possibly do that?" were integrated to elicit a sense of curiosity in the audience and then satisfy the curiosity with the cued answer to the question. Another technique I used was to subtly, but consistently, signify the importance with which we regarded this opportunity. For example, I mentioned how Inspire Your Desire would run no parallel projects whilst in a deal with Casio as they would be our priority; this appeal would psychologically grant to them a status of superiority and how our company acknowledged this superiority.

All in all, I am very proud of how well our group worked together on this presentation as we distributed the segments equally and therefore shared the workload evenly. In regards to what I would do differently had I the chance to repeat the presentation, I would not change perhaps anything concerning the content of the presentation itself as I believe we worked hard to incorporate effectual arguments, appeals and persuasive techniques that elevated the content as a whole. However, in terms of my own presenting, I would most certainly get rid of the cue cards for the sole reason that whilst presenting I am so focused on engaging the audience through consistent direct eye contact and gestures that I often improvise my words/phrases on the spot. The cue cards that I had in hand during this presentation contained the ideas and exact phrasings that I had thought of as guidelines and hence glancing at the cue cards whilst saying something completely different utterly confused me and resulted in de-railing my thought process in the moment. In order to avoid this the next time, I would either try and prepare well enough to not have cue cards at all or if I am tentative and still feel the need to have cue cards, I would place merely key words as opposed to complete phrases/paragraphs on the cue cards.

Pantene Commercial

Love Your Hair Longer

The commercial, "Love Your Hair  Longer," promoting the benefits of Pantene Conditioner is essentially targeted at women who, as the name of the commercial suggests, experience problems regarding the growth of long  hair. 

Accordingly, the credibility of the advertisement and its central assertion is strategically cemented by deliberately employing the celebrity status of renowned actor/singer—Selena Gomez—in an effective fashion that contributes to the ethos rhetoric of persuasion. Subsequently, the fact that Gomez herself voices the statements regarding the product itself is pivotal in augmenting the authenticity of the content of the advert as it better convinces the audience of the gravity of the statements being made by celebrity Selena Gomez due to her glorious presence elevating the central message of the advert.

In terms of the pathos facet of the advertisement, the central concept thrives on appealing to the desire of women who wish to have longer hair, by accenting Gomez's perfectly set and radiating hair, which could be their own if they were to purchase the Pantene product. This illusionary play on the emotions of the audience elicits a hopeful response as the Pantene Conditioner is illustrated to be the panacea to one's hair growth problems. The use of exceptionally bright colours, specifically yellow, in the advertisement also stimulates a more positive aura in the entirety for the audience's perception, which works in favour of increasing product sales due to the optimistic connotations complimenting the advert. The psychological impact of the advert has also been critically considered as visual animations of the Pro-V formula working its way through brittle hair miraculously transforms the hair to strengthen it. Furthermore, the incessant reiteration of the formula being "new" psychologically influences how the audience absorbs the product as 'better than ever', simply due to the label of the formula being new.

The advertisement itself was released in the United States of America, however, Selena Gomez is a globally recognized figure, thus making the advertisement impactful on a global scale. Furthermore, the use of one of her greatest hits, "Hands to Myself," as the playback music of the commercial evokes a sense of familiarity in an audience, despite the fact that they may not be acquainted with Selena Gomez herself, her song is well-known, making it an effective choice to use it in the advert itself. The use of the single"Hands to Myself" also highlights the advertisement being fairly recent as this song was only released in 2015.

The final persuasive element that can also be observed in this advert is the use of logos, which is the appeal to logic and reason. Gomez iterates how the novel "pro-v" formula of the Conditioner "micro-targets weak spots" and therefore makes the hair stronger. The use of critical scientific jargon can provoke an audience regarding the argument sounding legitimate and therefore make the advert more successful. The use of impressive animations that visually display the functioning of the Conditioner to strengthen the hair also enhances the overall message of the advertisement by making good use of the structural liberties of the medium it was delivered in.