Analysis: How To Critique Ads Like A Girl

Always “Like a Girl” commercial was not only a hit in the media world, but a hit to the hearts of many women across the nation. In this commercial Always attempts to reach out and inform Americans of the damage caused to a female’s confidence when they do finally hit that age in their lives where insecurities begin to exist. Positively using their credibility and reputation to target a worldwide issue among woman so that it gains enough awareness to hopefully get fixed. Women working their whole lives to break society’s doubt so that they aren’t classified under another demeaning stereotype when asked, “What does it mean to do something ‘Like a Girl?’’’.

Since the emergence of advertising in American culture one thing that has remained constant is the visible truth that men and women are portrayed differently. In consideration to the evolution of man kind gender roles have evolved immensely throughout time, although advertisements have not kept up with this process of evolution. Companies to this day use their tactics and skills to reach out to specific genders such as pretty fonts with a stylish message, while advertisements towards men portray the character as strong and intimidating. The typical viewer can easily spot the difference in the portrayal of genders. Men are portrayed this way because the viewers look up to these characters, they want to be

Gender role bias in advertisements has been so prevalent for so long that the untrained eye wouldn't even discern it. All the same, these biases, for the most part, put women in subordinate positions and men in dominant ones. This assumption on both the genders is unfair and demeaning. These ads portray women as subservient and play toys for men. Not only do the models depict an image nowhere near close to reality, but their bodies are scantily clad and what few clothes they are wearing are very revealing.

Sexist ads show that society is dominated by the same masculine values that have controlled the image of women in the media for years. Sexist advertisement reinforces gender stereotypes and roles, or uses sex appeal to sell products, which degrades the overall public perception of women. The idea that sexism is such a rampant problem comes from the stereotypes that are so deeply embedded into today’s society that they almost seem to be socially acceptable, although they are nowhere near politically correct. Images that objectify women seem to be almost a staple in media and advertising: attractive women are plastered all over ads. The images perpetuate an image of the modern woman, a gender stereotype that is reinforced time and time again by the media. These images are accepted as “okay” in advertising, to depict a particular product as sexy or attractive. And if the product is sexy, so shall be the consumer. In the 1970s, groups of women initially took issue with the objectification of women in advertisements and with the limited roles in which these ads showed women. If they weren’t pin-ups, they were delicate

In 2015 during the Superbowl, Procter and Gamble released an ad called “Like a Girl” representing the feminine product brand Always which was directed by Lauren Greenfield. P&G conducted research for the campaign finding that over half the women claimed they experienced a decline in confidence at puberty (Always, Procter & Gamble). The opportunity was clear, empowering girls during this time of their lives when confidence is at its lowest stage would give a powerful and purposeful role in how they would grow up to see themselves.The audience of this advertisement is a wide range of people, from those who watched the superbowl, and those who buy the variety of products P&G sell. The award-winning response Always #LikeAGirl campaign commercial, had turned a phrase that had become an insult into an empowering message for all young girls.

Advertising and Societies: Global Issues. New York, NY: Peter Land, Inc., 2003. Rpt. In Advertising. Ed. Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web 30 July 2015

Images of females are everywhere. The image of females portrayed through advertising for the most part gives off a negative message to girls who struggle with body image and even women who want to look a particular way. The most negative message that advertising portrays is objectification of women and violence towards them. Women and girls need to recognize the true meaning behind the advertisements that we see in all aspects of media. They should not allow themselves to be objectified in any way, nor accept that this is the way the female gender is portrayed.

Also, the commercials were coded as montage if no one in the class could tell what stereotype the central character was classified in, or if there were too many central characters to count. Our study categorizes a widespread list of female and male stereotypes which have been extensively used in prior research to examine gender (or racial) stereotypes in print advertisements as seen below (Hatzithomas et al., 2016). See Table 1 and Table

“What does it mean to do something like a girl?”, is a question millions throughout the United States viewed on their TV screen super bowl day in the year 2014. Little did they know this short campaign commercial by Always was going to change many of their views on a commonly misused phrase “Like a Girl.” Research done before the campaign showed during puberty a girl’s confidence starts to plummet as they become aware of gender stereotypes and the way many people define and view the phrase “Like a Girl”. With knowing this Always released their “Like a Girl” campaign commercial, hoping to increase the confidence of young girls and change society’s views and meaning of the phrase “Like a Girl”, from an insult to a compliment. Always partnered

Gender stereotypes have been around for quite some time now. It is important that as a society we recognize the harm that can come from these stereotypes. During the 2015 Super Bowl, Always, the brand of feminine hygiene products launched an ad pertaining to their campaign “like a girl”. This particular ad stood out and not necessarily for its humor. In this ad a diverse group of people (young boys and girls of various ages) were asked to perform tasks as a “girl” would.

In society, advertisement has created unrealistic standards which are shown silencing women and empowering men. You will be amazed by what these ads actually make you perceive as normal and what everyone thinks you should be? Advertisement in today's society is continuously using the same generic features, these generic features are gender stereotypes, male gaze and objectifying. Advertisement in today’s society can be very blunt and

Before diving into the current state of male roles in advertising, it is necessary to review past gender stereotypes and how they have developed in the past. Looking at advertising through the media from a social determinist standpoint, the existing cultural and social values and progresses are what determine how gender roles are portrayed in media. This would go against the cultivation theory notion that the media used to portray men and women are what shape our cultural and social ideologies. Grau and Zotos (2016) establish this “the mirror versus the mold” debate and note that this debate “is a continuum” (p. 763). Existing social values may impact the strategies of advertisers, but at the same time, the advertisements we are

“Always Like a Girl” is used as an insult in our society, starting around the age of 10, and follows into a woman’s adult life. The brand Always takes this misused phrase and reinvents it into something girls can own and be proud of. This advertisement effectively empowers young girls and women along with promoting the brand Always in a positive light. In this video, people are asked to “throw like a girl” or “fight like a girl” and this is intentionally acted out through demeaning actions. For example, the adult women would throw their arms around ineffectively which is significant.

During the 2015 Super Bowl, Always, Proctor and Gamble’s line of feminine hygiene products, aired a simple but powerful and sobering one-minute advertisement. This ad aimed to provoke intellectual thought and conversation surrounding negative gender stereotypes by taking the idiomatic phrase, “like a girl,” and re-appropriating it to show viewers that doing or performing something “like a girl” is not an insult. The argument made was that “like a girl” is not a derogatory phrase, and should not be used to suggest or imply that someone is overly emotional, weak, or useless. According to Fama Francisco, Always’ global vice-president, the company’s desire was to “change the meaning of 'like a girl ' from an insult into something positive and

The roles of males and females in society have significantly changed, as opposed to the predominant roles in our history. In the modern culture of today, women have begun to break out of the mold that which society has placed her in. This much can’t be said when it comes to modern gender representation in mass media advertising. It can be safe to state that woman are seen as sexual, fragile, exotic—whereas men are portrayed as tough, in control, and aggressive. This trend can be one seen as an inhibitor to the advancement of our culture, because especially for women, it is hard to pull away from the stereotypes that are continuously represented. As examples of the given trend, the following