By Eva and Alexis
“Power, and passion, spirit, and substance – Inside every woman there is a goddess waiting to be discovered.” A singer belting her tune confidently, a runner trudging like there’s no tomorrow, a painter whose paint strokes are as driven as the strokes of a swimmer. In the vibrant snapshots in the Gillette Venus, all of these “Venus goddesses” flourish amidst a burst of fire, a cloudless sky, a dose of creative energy, a flash of lightning. As the rainbow-like red, orange, yellow, green blue and purple razors will shave away your stubby hair, they will dually reveal your radiant potential. The advertisement illustrates these thriving (shaven) women and their fantastic, flamboyant, exaggerated dance-like gestures. These women would give Barbie (master of all trades) a run for her money. And so, the ad is a success. But wait a minute. Let’s get real. While this ad supposedly represents natural or women “shaven” to the core, the Gillette advertisement for a men’s body wash seems to mirror its audience more truthfully.
“Just because it says “for men” it doesn’t mean it is. New Gillette Odor Shield Body Wash targets and neutralizes odor up to sixteen hours because you have got a “man-sized” odor hanging all over you. Gillette Odor Shield Body Wash – wash like a man, feel like a man.” These opening lines lead the viewer into a standard blue and gray tiled shower facing the hairy calves of what we assume (given our scarce evidence) to be a (sole) typical American man. Given that the calves are consistent to the rest of this masculine physique, he is probably a hunk. (We’ll never know)…. Regardless, our fantasies are halted by the slew of wonder-man’s “masculine” possessions, which land clumsily (as a “man” would drop them) at his oh-so-adorable feet. According to our feminine eyes, the variety of objects seemed to belong to the stereotypical masculine gender. Furthermore, compared to the formal English accent of the narrator of the female advertisement, the narrator of the male accent speaks casually – mirroring the voice of an average American man. However, according to the perspective of a “typical” man who uses Gillette products (Jason Hult), the objects represented a variety of activities the man had successfully accomplished in that given day.
Gillette holds the mirror up to the male viewers they hope will lather themselves in their body wash after viewing the ad. So why is the definition of a man limited to the adult version of “action toys” falling at his feet, while the female advertisement summons the female to aspire to be more than what she sees in the mirror each day? Both ads are asking the customer to step outside of their bathrooms and do something more. By providing the male viewers with a mirror and the female viewers a window, the Gillette company seems to be trying to command (as one would command a dog) the males to be more productive while it seems to be attempting to inspire the female to step outside of the realm of the mundane routine of their daily lives. Perhaps the company is prodding at the systematic, logical brains of males while addressing the female’s empathetic tendencies—those that would lead them to respond to the brand’s passionate advertisement on an empathetic level.
If you use 16-hour body wash, you’ll be a man. If you pick up your Venus, you’ll be a goddess. Although Gillette’s products are designed for the two different sexes (male and female), they end up stepping beyond the sex boundaries, into the realm of gender expression. Gillette assumes that females are “girly” and males are “boyish”—whatever that means! Furthermore, the problem with the ads’ missions is that they’ve succeeded in convincing the viewer to purchase the product—says a Venus fanatic, “I do feel like a goddess when I shave”. But is this really the right message to be spreading? How would a gender-questioning person respond to such an ad? What happens if a man wants to feel like a god, or a woman wants to be “cleansed” after mowing the lawn and throwing a football around with her daughters?
Hey,
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting post to read because its a "male" brand starting a women's line. I also thought it was interesting how they said a woman would be a goddess but the man isn't a god if he used Gillette. For the questions at the end of your post, why don't you try answering them yourself? Maybe from past experiences if you've ever used Venus? How about answer based off of the women in the ad?
Jenni
This was very interesting to me because I do know a lot of girls who wear old spice deotorant or body wash. That product is specifically advertised for men but many women still use it. Just because things are advertised to a certain sex that doesn't mean that the only sex it appeals to. I think part of the reason old spice is so appealing to some women is because it is designed for men and has the scent as if you were with a guy. My other thoughts on the blog is the slogan venus uses such a bad thing. Unleash the goddess in you. I think that is empowering for women to think about and there is something sexy about smooth legs, so women should be able to celebrate the fact to make it seem less of a hassle or an inconvinience.
ReplyDelete-Ansley Brown
Something I thought was particularly interesting was the fact that you connected these ads to male brains vs. female brains. I also thought it was interesting that men were given a mirror while women were given a window. Does this say something about men thinking about themselves less often that women? This was a very well-written and interesting blog.
ReplyDelete-Amelia
ReplyDeleteAn interesting look into the minds of both the viewers and users of these products as well as perhaps the people who created the ad. Bravo on both complimenting and criticizing effectively the ad. I wonder if different products are advertised in a vastly different way or if all are similar in theme and message? Again good job.
ReplyDelete-Jonathan Crohn
I was really interested in the optimistic view that you talk about that exists within all women, this was really new to me. Your first paragraph talking about the commercial was awesome. It was obvious you spent time thinking and analyzing this ad. Comparing two commercials by the same company really is creative because it exposes the problems that they have. Possibly my favorite part is that you take it to another level by questioning the gender issue that this posses. I think you could have maybe given your opinion on that question though. My main question isnt text based but it is really just where did you get your inspiration from? How did you come to this idea? It is clear that you thought a looot about what the direction of the blog was. Great job guys!
ReplyDeleteGus
Yea--i agree with Ansley, i know a lot of girls who wear old spice because of the scent. Also its funny because these ads are so ridiculous yet they seem to be effective. Every time i see an ad for venus and the women have silky smoothe legs, it makes me want to buy it. I think maybe the same is true for the male products, though i don't really know. But in 7th grade or so when all of the axe commercials started coming out all the boys wore axe and brought it to school. I'm curious if the products are actually designed in a way that one is better for girls or for boys o if they are just marketed that way.
ReplyDelete-Alexandra
I hadn't really thought about the different ways of advertising razors; I have only ever been confused by the necessity for male and female razors. Don't they perform the same function? Its really a mundane task that gillete's PR staff has managed to turn into a defining action. I'm curious as to how long these ads have been around and how much people are influenced by them.
ReplyDeleteAlicia
You analyze your ads really well. I liked the attention to detail and how you seperated how each ad attracted its target market. I also liked how you changed the typical gender roles of dads throwing a football to his son into mom throwing a football at her daughters and mowing the lawn. I would have loved to hear more about what it is that is selling those products and how they catch their target market though.
ReplyDelete-Ivan Bucio