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.

Blog Response 8 : Tommy Hilfiger

Why is she wearing work gloves (leather) and a hat? Why aren’t the gloves pink?

    In the Soft-N-Dri “Strong and Beautiful” advertisement, the girl is an attractive, white, blonde woman dressed in all pink except for her work gloves. Having her dressed in pink gives her a very girly appearance. The working gloves and hat however contradict the girly girl look especially since the gloves are leather. Leather is seen as more of a “hardcore” type of clothing choice to wear. I think the gloves are not pink because the creators of this advertisement wanted to have a beautiful woman who could also be hard working in a man’s point of view.  

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

It is generally simple to tell which object signifies which word based on the audience they are targetting, younger women. According to their audience, also signified by the magazine that this ad appears in, the truck is the strong one, and the model is the beautiful one. They show the truck in glossy all black paint and seems to hang ominously in the background. The truck is bold and ridged and it has square beaming lights. It has huge bolts in the sides of its massive grill. It is what is considered a man's truck. It signifies power, strength, boldness, and dominence. This massive truck more of the target than the woman is because of what it signifies, the bold and strong in the deoderant that the ad is advertising and it reminds me of a train. The woman, according to the audience the ad is targeting, would be the "beautiful". The woman is there to bring the interest of the young girl audience to this ad as she handles the pipe she has behind her shoulder and wears her trucker hat says she is the driver of this truck. The ad want its audience to say "Oh this woman is using this deoderant because its strong and truckers sweat alot". The woman is further pushed on the audience with her feminine features, especially with her girlish skirt and pink outfit. The star of this ad is the truck however, as it does most of the work, the model is just there for her female audience to associate beauty with this deoderant. Take out the woman and the deoderant and it is very well possible to catch the eyes of many vehicle enthusiasts.

"How about the text copy at the bottom - what do you make of the use of the phrase 'long haul'"?

The phrase "long haul" firstly serves to give meaning to the picture, it alludes back to the semi truck dominating the background of the ad. Semi trucks perform long hauls on a daily basis, it is their job to do this. Using this phrase actually highlights what is good about the deodorant. The company is saying the deodorant can not only last a long time (as is necessary for deodorant) but also put up with difficult work and still serve its purpose. This is also why the gloves and semi are the picture. They serve to represent hard work and a long haul which is what the company is trying to advertise the deodorant as being able to combat. It is saying that it will serve even the woman that works 10 hours a day to come home and be a gardener and exercise and take care of children; it wants the audience to believe it can handle the "long haul."

Donald Perez