For our second project, we
were assigned to write a rhetorical analysis essay. I had never written an
essay such as this one before, so this was new to me. I chose to write my paper
on a makeup ad campaign, designed by Max Factor. The main idea of my essay was
how these advertisements have a way of making women feel inferior, and how they
urge women to try and live up to an image that isn’t obtainable. This essay was
not an easy essay to write, but I like how challenging it was. I like the way I
was forced to dig deeper and analyze an image that had a lot more meaning than
what was shown at the surface.
Beauty Ad Campaign- I Am Perfected: A Rhetorical Analysis
A rhetorical analysis is not a summary. It is not a
narrative essay, there isn’t a story that’s being told. It has nothing to do
with one’s life, it is not an autobiography. A rhetorical analysis is used to
persuade a particular audience. The author uses texts and/or images to urge the
reader to understand a specific message the way it’s meant to be understood.
It’s no secret that being a woman in today’s day and age is
tough. Or any day and age for that matter. Young or old, women constantly feel
pressured. Pressured to be better role models, to be thinner, prettier, smarter,
kinder, to be better wives, and good mothers. The list could go on. Social
media, magazines, or even television has placed this idea in our heads that we
aren’t good enough because we don’t look or act a certain way. You can’t open a
magazine without seeing a model who weighs around 100 pounds and looks to be
about a size 2- and those are the women we idolize. Those are the women we
aspire to be like. Why? Why is it that we feel we need to paint our faces with
layers of makeup and act like people we may not be, to feel beautiful?
Unfortunately, the Max Factor ad campaign is an example of how these
advertisements have a way of making women feel flawed and imperfect, while
these women are fighting to live up to an image that isn’t obtainable.
At first glance, all
that’s noticed about this image is what’s being sold. ”Introducing colour
correcting cream.” it says. Makeup ads
are viewed on a daily basis, this isn’t something new. After taking a second
look, reading all the words, and studying the models’ facial expression, a lot
more detail is noticed. The model looks content. She looks like she feels
beautiful, it’s written all over her face. She was trying to look convincing.
That’s when it’s realized that this ad has a much bigger purpose. Sure, the image
itself is trying to advertise a specific brand of makeup. However, there is a
much deeper meaning here. ”I am perfected,” as it states in the bottom left
corner. ”Gorgeous, flawless coverage while caring for your skin.” Great! Right?
Every woman wants to feel like the woman featured it this particular ad
campaign. Not only that, but plenty of women would view this image and
automatically assume all this information is true, without question. Without
any sort of proof whatsoever. When Max Factor created this campaign, those
thoughts were already in mind. He knew how easy it would be to create such
successful advertisements this way.
There’s no doubt that the main objective here, the
main purpose of creating this image, was primarily for sales. It’s the way
they’re trying to persuade their viewers to buy their products that really
catches the readers eye. By convincing women that they can feel just as perfect
as the model featured does. This goes back to the idea that women feel they
need to live up to a certain standard, or look a certain way, to feel good
enough. As if putting on makeup is going to change who you are as a person. As
if all of a sudden you’re going to be “perfect” the minute you apply a layer of
makeup to your skin. That’s what should be taken from this imagine.
It’s obvious that the targeted audience here is all women.
Being that most men don’t typically buy makeup or pay attention to ads such as
this one. It was actually quite shocking after doing a little research and
discovering how efficient images such as this one can be, and how greatly they
actually impact a woman’s life. Women all over the world are going to extreme
measures and spending ridiculous amount of cash on products just like the one
pictured, to live up to a certain image. Actually, according to recent
research, the average woman spends around $43.00 on a single makeup trip alone.
That averages to about $15,000 on beauty products in a lifetime (People.com).
That’s more than enough money to buy a brand new car. How crazy is that? Woman
are spending thousands of dollars to change the look of their appearance.
There are thousands of images just like this one that we
view every day. Most of us don’t stop to think about the main purpose of such
an ad. We see a photo of a pretty young woman, read about the makeup she has
on, and we jump for joy. How exciting is it that we get to be just like a woman
featured in a well worded advertisement? We have the opportunity to look just
like she does, wear the same products she’s wearing. Gas stations, consignment
stores, libraries, these images can be seen any and everywhere. The one thing
that’s especially mind blowing is how well these this tactic actually works!
Women all over the world are buying into these beauty campaigns, and allowing
them to change how they view themselves.
This particular advertisement is effective. This is because
of how incredibly easy it is to slap a pretty face and a couple encouraging
words on a platform and have the ability to influence millions, while selling
their products at the same time. It seems a little too easy to convince women
that they “need” to buy these products. Advertisements like this one have been
around for centuries, and they’re only getting more and more creative. Which is
obviously necessary. Meaning, without the help of these images, there would be
much less of a profit made off of these products.
Works Cited
Kratofil, Colleen. “Can You Guess How Much a Woman Spends on
Makeup in Her Liftetime? (We Were Way Off!).” PEOPLE.com, Time Inc, 30
Mar. 2017, people.com/style/how-much-does-a-woman-spend-on-makeup/.
“Candice Swanepoel Max Factor Campaign.” Beauty Scene, 6
May 2013, www.beautyscene.net/makeup/candice-swanepoel-max-factor-campaign/.
No comments:
Post a Comment