Spring is back and so are back all these ads on TV for slimming products and so on and so forth... (diet sodas, self tanning lotions... )
According to beauty (and food!) industry, it's now time for us ALL to be slim and perfectly tanned.
Well I'm not slim at all (I'm a US 4 size), I've been avoiding sun for years now, so I'm kinda pale and I don't use self tanning lotions either because I don't wanna end up like some weird tiger pattern on my skin.
SO WHAT???
I'm definitely ugly if I take into account what beauty industry tells me to look like.
But more than that, last year I remember that I was completely dumbfounded to see Dove's ad for its new deodorant: Beauty Finish. The promise was "gorgeous underarms".
I couldn't believe their marketing strategy. Basically, they were creating insecurity to sell their stuff. Honestly, how many women feel so insecure about their underarms that they need to make them look better?
Moreover, I think that this product reveals how hypocritical Dove's self esteem fund is. I picked a video for you (I really like this video). The motto: "Talk to your daughter before beauty industry does". Ok, good, but next to this you work just like any other beauty company, telling girls and women that they are not beautiful enough.
This idea of creating insecurity is not new. This was Listerine's strategy to sell their mouthwash with their motto (famous since that) "Often a bridesmaid, never a bride". If you can't get married, it's just because your breath stinks.
Here are these ads. Click for a larger view.
What about you girls? What is your opinion about these ads that create insecurity to sell their products?
Thanks again for reading. Have a nice weekend.
i'm really glad you posted something like this. I'm afraid that often beauty product companies totally convey the wrong image, and i don't want to be guilty of the same on my blog. All the makeup and stuff is fun to play with, but it's just a tool. 'What's on the inside is what counts' sounds so clichem but it's the truth. Marketing in the US, and i'm sure all over the world, focuses completely on 'buy this and you'll get a boyfriend' or 'buy this and you'll be attractive' and so forth. Who's to say what beauty is, anyway? It really is in the eye of the beholder. Companies just want to acquire profits, and will say/do anything to do that. I have a daughter and i'm going to do my damndest to make sure she doesnt' grow up with any insecurities or finds herself comparing herself to photoshopped pictures in magazines or on tv.
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