Recent Tampon Ad example essay topic

" Why do you always complain about your cramps and your uncomfortability. Look at these people; they " re having a good time while on there period". That's what I told my girlfriend when looking at a recent tampon ad. It's funny though, that this particular ad we were looking at, was talking about how they (the tampons) don't hurt, how they helped conquer fear and also the race of people that it used. When I first look at this ad I see two girls and a guy playing Frisbee. It seems like a fun atmosphere, so it caught my eye.

In one picture they show a girl taking the Frisbee away from a guy and in the next she is taking it away from a girl. It's a happy ad that shows two girls possibly on there period. Which in the case of the product being sold an underlying meaning of you can have fun and still be on your period could be inferred. "Sweet! (and I was almost a no-show 'cause I thought using a tampon would hurt.) Obviously the advertisers are saying that these specific types of tampons are comfortable.

It's a smart move to make this the very first thing you see in the ad because this automatically assures the consumer that this product is not harmful in anyway. In a buyer's eyes this will trigger a need to be safe. Most people nowadays are risk adverse and try to avoid all possible situations that compromise they " re safety. So by reiterating that this product is comfortable, the buyer already feels "protected" without even knowing it. Although you must consider this, everybody has a different body stature and what is comfortable to a "regular" sized woman or lady might not be comfortable to an overweight or smaller woman or lady. "The continuous pressure is to create ads more and more in the image of audience motives and desires".

(Marshall McLuhan, pg. 61 cc) The tampon advertisers must know this to be true being that they affiliate the need to dominate with the ad. "Playtex helped me conquer my fears, then Jill and I conquered the boys!" Being that this was stated in the ad, the main character of our advertisement had an enormous fear of using tampons, possibly because foreign objects in small places can be intruding and painful. But she was reassured by trying the product herself. Also some of her fears might have been odors, even though the captions do not mention deodorants or scents to the tampons. Often time the advertisers do not give specific information about the product, but being the consumer at hand you must infer or relate to your own concerns or your own fears. Now to sidestep for a moment, guys, at this point don't you wish you could be a female just for a moment and try this product?

I mean up to this point don't they seem like such a great product; you can be in a bad situation and have a good time and uplift any fears of this product forever! "Minority models aren't getting mainstream treatment in mainstream magazines", (Bowen and Shm id, pg. 79 cc) it's funny how this quote pertains to this ad (I found it in a cosmo girl, not a very extravagant magazine). If you look at this ad that was found in an all race magazine the models are all white! Why aren't there any Hispanic or Africans in this ad?

Hispanics and Africans could have easily been in the same situation and have all the same characteristics as our models. Maybe because in the eyes of minorities and other races white have a lot less social pressures, and can enjoy life by playing a game of Frisbee. One of my friends once said, "I'm a white boy, nobody has the balls to judge me 'cause I'm the power of the nation". Kind of racial but maybe the advertisers feel the same way. An interesting fact came to mind while examining this ad, focus not so much on what's on display but what color. Purple, from previous knowledge of my art classes in high school, is a color that signifies wealth.

And with most wealthy people, they yearn to be looked up to. I think that the advertisers added this color to the ad itself so we do look at it, even though most people do not know the back round on the color purple, they do notice a contrast of colors. After being drawn in by the colors of the advertisement you begin to notice the particulars of the ad; A bright sunny day, green grass and trees and smiling faces enjoying a good ol' game of Frisbee. When looking at it the ad almost says, "savor this moment and escape even when life's pressures try to bring you down". So by using Playtex Tampons you still can get out there and do what you want to do even if your are on your period. These tampons kind of give you a sense of freedom.

It seems to me that Playtex Tampons are a hero to distressed female on there periods. When reading the white writing on the bottom of the ad the main character implies that without these tampons she couldn't have function on that particular day. They saved her, in a sense, from embarrassment and pain. In my personal opinion this ad sells, even to me!

The advertisers hit a lot of concerns women might have with using a tampon. Domination, safety, and freedom is what a women is about and this ad addresses all these needs by inference or being out right stated.