Advertising today is very stereotypical. Almost every commercial can be depicted as to how it is set up for certain viewers. You have the common diet commercials that are so unreal and you do not believe anything. They have the typical model body which is most likely unhealthy, but it makes viewers want to look like that, so why not do it?
Another commercial that stood out to me were the swiffer commercials. In these commercials there is always the typical, happy, vibrant mother who is all about cleaning. She is always dressed nice and no matter what she has that glowing smile on her face. Rarely, if ever, do you see a male "swiffering" the floor. It is still known in today's society that the women cook and clean, not men.
You also have the Reynolds wrap commercials that have been going for a very long time. It makes me wonder if they are ever going to fall flat? These commercials are exactly like the swiffer commercials. It is the "ideal" mother who opens the freezer and is like "Honey what would you like for dinner?" and she pulls out three different things wrapped in Reynolds wrap. Of course this commercial is for the prevention of freezer burn, but just having that typical wife baffles my mind. Now a days, men do the cooking sometimes, so why not have a male open up the freezer and ask his kids what they want for dinner? It just does not make much sense to me at all as to why women are still portrayed as the typical cleaning and cooking mother.
Finally the last commercial that I thought was somewhat stereotypical was the Hillshire Farms "go meat" commercial. This commercial has men grilling while singing go meat. Of course there is not one woman grilling, yet i know many women that are capable of grilling. The link to this commercial is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1xGFcmmf-U. I personally think that this commercial is a good form of advertising only because it really does pull you in. The only question though, is why not have at least one woman in the commercial?
There are so many different stereotypes and it really makes you wonder why even stereotype? I look at it as if stereotyping is going to sell a product, then why not do it? People will do whatever they can to sell a product, and really, there is not anything wrong with it. Also what is even more incredible about stereotyping is that many people do not even realize it, unless they are really looking for it.
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2 comments:
I totally agree with your comments on cleaning products and their typical use of "ideal" housewives as characters in their ads.
People often say that the stereotype of women staying at home and "housekeeping" has vanished with their growing presence in the business world, but these blatant ads prove otherwise.
In the block of commercials I watched, I also noticed the way women were being portrayed. I found that commercials selling household products, such as Swifter and Reynolds Wrap, had women happily demonstrating the products by cleaning the kitchen or preparing meals for the family. Not once in the block of commercials I watched did I see a male performing these tasks. Therefore, these commercials are using the stereotype of a women’s place as being in the home cleaning, cooking, and taking care of the children. In reality, however, women are becoming a major force in the job market.
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