Monday, October 5, 2009

Skateboarding My Way To Prom




http://ss.servers.fuel.tv/ugc/adamsullivan/pictures/UF_41401/preview_url_max_540_LeticiaAD_jpg.jpg

Nothing says I’m ready to grind on my skateboard quite like a cocktail dress and heels. This secret deodorant advertisement is laughably impractical and downright unbelievable.
The advertisement denotes a teenage girl in a red dress, bronze heels, silver necklace and long hair riding a rail on a skateboard. In the upper left hand corner there is text that reads “Secret: Because You’re Hot.” In the lower left corner the text reads, “The more you move, the more it works. No matter how you get around, the movement-activated odor protection of Secret Flawless Renewal renews and refreshes as you move for all day odor protection.”
As natural as the ad tries to make it look, the scene constructed here is extremely unbelievable. How many times have you passed a girl as dressed up as this just casually trying out tricks at the local park? My guess is never. The ad is clearly trying to juxtapose societal ideologies of females being dainty and fragile to females acting rugged and athletic. But seriously, skateboarding in a dress and heels? Although an interesting attempt, I think it falls a bit short simply because it’s hard to take seriously. The meaning that the ad is trying to convey is so obvious that it is ineffective.

1 comment:

  1. Ah! This ad was in the running to be my essay topic (good thing i didn't pick it, or else we would have had to fight to the death......or flip a coin).

    But this is an excellent one to analyze- What this ad says to me is "hey girls. Want to be one of the guys but still be a girly girl?" and their use of interpellation ("the more YOU move, the more it works) is a tool being used to make girls think about the above question. It's like those MADE episodes on MTV where the girl is sick and tired of only being viewed as one of the guys and wants a boyfriend, not just a guy friend. Solution: where a red dress, cute shoes and bust a sweet move on your skateboard to leave your crush staring in awe and enchantment. It grabs your attention because it breaks the stereotypical mold of what a sk8er gurl looks like (grunge, black pants, chains..basically anything from Hot Topic).

    Also, an interesting question to consider: Would this fly in other cultural contexts/countries? Why or why not? Is it only in Western society that girls aspire to be like "one of the guys?"

    excellent pick.

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