Is it clear which is strong and which is beautiful- the truck or the model?

In my opinion, I do not think it is clear because a woman can be strong and beautiful. In the sense of the semi-truck, it can be both but many people would not call a black semi-truck beautiful. They may call it nice or good looking. It all depends on the person you are directing the question to.

Soft-n-Dri

"Is this an effective ad? Is it sexist? What makes it effective or sexist?

The Soft-N-Dri ad is definitely sexist and mainly an ad for women viewers. The main actress is a woman and is portraying everything that society believes exist with women. The word "princess" is shown everywhere and they use the color pink throughout the ad. I think the creators purposely used all these symbols to show that this deodorant is for women and if you use this deodorant you will be a princess. They also send the idea to women that you will be strong and beautiful if you wear soft-n-dri deodorant. This ad is very effective because it sends out a message to all women why they should use their product.

Erin Duff

Soft-N-Dri ad

Do you think there is any relation between the whiteness of the model and the fact that the word “strong” is also in white? Why wouldn’t it be the same color as the truck?

I do not believe there is any correlation between the color of the text and the color of the woman. The word is on a black part of the ad so the white text is a “strong” contrast to the black part of the ad. In addition, people will be able to read white on black better than other colors. It wouldn’t be the same color as the truck because it is clear in the ad that the truck is supposed to be the hard work and strength, so making it the same color is unnecessary.

Is it clear which is strong and which is beautiful-the truck or the model?

It is very easy to figure out which person or object is supposed to stand for something strong and which one is supposed to stand for something beautiful. The good looking blond model with her tight pink outfit on is supposed to be seen as the ideal woman who is seen as the picture perfect idea of beauty. Long haired blonds with good bodies are always shown as beautiful which tells girls that is the way they are supposed to look, like the Barbie doll for instance. The truck is seen as a more masculine and stronger picture, and shows a manly side that can appeal to many audiences, making the girl almost look a little rough around the edges.

How would the ad be different with an asian model, african american model or a man in dressed in pink?

The ad would convey a different message if they used an asian model or african american model because at the moment they are trying to appeal to the majority, and the majority of Americans are white. Some might think that if they used an asian model or African american model they would trying to appeal to that market, instead they used a white model in order to appeal to the largest market. If they used a man as a model then no women would want to buy the deodorant.

Patrick Millar

Power Stripe

""Given the fact that this deodorant features a 'power stripe,' why are her gloves and the truck important.

       The theme for this commercial is women's strength and independence. Most women have delicate or dainty hands. If the commercial portrayed this, the strong factor would be taken away. Since they have given her gloves to wear it covers her dainty hands, and the gloves make her look more rough. The gloves give her "man-ish" look.
       In an everyday setting how many women do you see driving trucks? Not too many, and if they do the truck certainly is not a semi. This truck gives her power, which puts in place the "power strip." This truck makes her seem like she can conquer anything a man can.

Tommy Hilfiger

What does the text suggest about how Tommy Hilfiger view America? The questions and answers in this section really helped me look at text a different way. It analyzed what was in the ad, but also what was missing. There are middle to upper middle class people sitting on a lawn. No one is above 30, there is not sign of work. I think the ad may be saying something about blue collar work. There are no indians or mexicans and the location is out in a farmhouse area maybe out in new england. The ad represents real america as being everything listed above. They try to broad there market by including a black male and black female, but the TH logo is underneath the white woman. It tells me that Tommy Hilfiger is for well off non working, upper twenties white people. They view America as just that.