- Julia Gerber
Unattainable Beauty in Advertisement
Photo from freestocks.org
Anyone who has watched commercials or read a magazine has seen those advertisements that flaunt beautiful models transformed by some beauty product. It’s flashy and alluring... but not accurate. However, most beauty ads hide the truth of how they got their models to look that stunning.
Amanda Ray from the Art Institute wrote a similar article called “A Revealing Look at Beauty Advertising,” and according to her, “by presenting idealized images, beauty product and fashion advertisers seek to persuade customers that they will become new and improved if they use their product or wear their clothes.”
Photo by Jeromy Robert from Suave
On April 3rd, 2018, Suave released an ad that revealed all of the most common tricks behind your everyday shampoo commercial. Many of the stunts look ridiculous behind the scenes. Hairdressers stuff and pin foam balls at the back of the model’s hair for volume and even have people in green-screen suits flick sticks through the hair to make it look wispy and wind-blown... an unattainably beautiful.
Photo by Jeromy Robert from Suave
In the clip, Suave states that “74% of millennial women think hair shown in ads is unachievable. And they’re usually right.” But in their Hair You Can Believe campaign, Suave attempts to fix that by having their models style their own hair on set.
Photo by Jeromy Robert from Suave
Hair products and advertisements are not the only ones known to falsely present standards of beauty. Makeup and skincare companies are just as guilty. They all use similar tricks and hacks to make the consumer feel like they need the product to meet the expectations of beauty.
And according to according to Gia Salardi, an instructor in the Fashion Design and Merchandising department of Miami International University of Art & Design, that’s all a part of the plan. “Some of the psychological emotions that they focus on are positive feelings of confidence and pleasure, increase of self-esteem, social acceptance, and joy and happiness,” she says. It’s all in the marketing to use emotions to their advantage.
Photo by Godisable Jacob
So why does Suave feel the need to be honest with their consumers all of a sudden? Maybe because it’s a new angle and customers will feel more trusting knowing that beauty is more achievable.
What do you think about beauty advertisements and how they portray women? Leave a comment below!
Tweet: Beauty advertisements aren’t as accurate and magical as you may think. Learn more about the behind the scenes of hair commercials with this blog!