“The principal forms of our physical and social environment are fixed in representations…and we ourselves are fashioned in relation to them.” - Serge Moscovici
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Yogurt and Hair Dye: Products Just For Women?
When trying to come up with media for this week, 2 products struck me as interesting: yogurt and hair color (the dye). Both are thought of and marketed as products for women. I realized that I had never seen a yogurt commercial for men, despite knowing men who do like yogurt. Yogurt is always advertised as a healthy but yummy food choice - the type of food women look for. What would a yogurt commercial targeting men look like? Although I couldn't find the commercial, I did find this article called "Will Real Men Eat Yogurt?" You can find it here: http://www.aef.com/industry/news/data/hot_issues/1776. It describes the commercial Dannon shot targeting men rather than women.
I did find a commercial for "Just For Men," the line of hair color for men. It's funny because looking back, I remember seeing the "Just For Men" commercials on TV while growing up, and not thinking anything of it. Now, I'm a bit surprised that the line exists.
You can compare the commercial with this Clairol Nice 'n Easy commercial targeting women:
What kind of differences do you notice between the hair color commercials? What, if anything, surprises you about the commercials?
What a great contrast between these two clips! In each clip, the person in question is made to feel bad about their current hair color, in order to incentivize them to use dye. However, the mechanisms through which this is accomplished are entirely different! In the female clip, she switches her hair color because of what a female friend thinks. While in the male clip, he changes his hair color because of what a (overly sexualized) potential female mate thinks. This implies that females run on competition between each other, while men run on competition for females.
What a great contrast between these two clips! In each clip, the person in question is made to feel bad about their current hair color, in order to incentivize them to use dye. However, the mechanisms through which this is accomplished are entirely different! In the female clip, she switches her hair color because of what a female friend thinks. While in the male clip, he changes his hair color because of what a (overly sexualized) potential female mate thinks. This implies that females run on competition between each other, while men run on competition for females.
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