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Research Paper Melanie Maxwell Southern New Hampshire University Douglas Mckoy April 14, 2022

I based my research paper on the following advertisements Dove: Empowering Idents, Google: Body Type, Olay #Makespaceforwomen and Unilever: United We Stand. I chose these ads because I saw a bit of myself in each ad, so I was immediately drawn to them. The audiences that the advertisements are trying to reach vary. The Olay and Dove ads seems to be geared towards women because they are they only gender present in both. The Unilever ad is geared towards the LGBTQ+ community. The Body Type ad is very inclusive and includes both genders, this ad is for all people who may struggle with insecurities as it pertains to their body type. All these ads were very clear on their intent. However, there seemed to be an underlying message. The underlying meaning or socially significant message in the Body Type ad is to love and embrace your body. That we’re all created differently and that is okay. And to use your body type to create something just for you, as unique as you. For the Dove: Empowering Idents ad the underlying message here to is that we’re all created differently, and our differences should be celebrated, that we should feel empowered for being different. The Olay #Makespaceforwomen ad is socially significant because it stands for a fight that women have been fighting since the beginning of time. This ad is geared towards women and girls who want representation in the technology field. Finally, the Unilever: United We Stand ads underlying message is in the title. This ad is about unity and it’s socially significant because the LGBTQ+ community is still and probably always will fight for a place in society. There weren’t any notable stereotypes in any of the ads I selected. The Body Type ad made a point to regard people with insecurities, which could be suggestive of a stereotype, but it wasn’t made clear. The Olay ad was just the opposite and spoke

against the stereotype that there isn’t “any space for women in space”. The Dove ad was created to showcase your/our differences. Each woman spoke about stereotypes that were placed on them because of their appearance, so the ad itself didn’t have any stereotypes, but the women spoke about their struggles of being judged. And the Unilever ad was about unity. Each ad that I selected was inclusive, there were many different cultures and ethnicities represented in all of them. The ads I selected do support social change. Specifically, the Olay and Unilever ads. The Olay ad encourages consumers and viewers to look beyond gender. The study of space and technology shouldn’t be dominated by males. The Unilever ad asks consumers to join the fight for equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community. I think these ads should get involved in social movements and they kind of already are, which can prompt a social change. It is important for advertisers and companies to be as inclusive and unbiased as possible in a diverse world because representation matters. For example, if I were watching an ad about clothing, I wouldn’t convinced to purchase products in an ad that only shows petite Caucasian women. As a plus size black woman I would feel that there weren’t any options for me available. The advertisements I chose prompted me to form the research question, how does inclusive representation sway people to purchase products per year, when they see people who look like them? I chose this question because when consumers see people who look like them in ads, they become biased. It puts them in the mindset of “if he/she can do that I can too”. Upon research for this question, I found an article that stated “The inclusion of diverse and fluid sexuo-gendered identities within the brand values of retailers would enable effective targeting of consumers across a range of more traditional cohorts. Social

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implications. The evolving ideology towards inclusiveness, identified within the generational cohorts, demonstrates social change through progressive acceptance of more fluid gendered and sexual identities. (Boyd et al, 2020). The purpose of that article was to determine if inclusive representation of the LGBTQIA+ community in retail brands prompted more sales, and it in fact did prompt more sales. The conclusion portion of the article proving that inclusive representation does in fact sway consumers to purchase products made me stick with this question. Oddly enough, a conversation with my mom did as well. My mother has purchased a certain type of “holy water” for years, I asked her, why do you use this water? What does it mean? What is it for? I use it myself, because I’ve watched my mother and grandmother use it since I was a child; she answered, “it’s the way we’ve always done things, it’s a part of our culture. We use this water to bless our homes, it covers us”. Before ever asking her that I purchased the water and use it to bless my home because I see many Panamanian people do that, I see many family members do the same. It is our belief that we are spiritually covered with a $7.99 bottle of scented water. But that’s the way we, as a culture do things. It would be beneficial to approach things in everyday life with an unbiased opinion. Examining ads from a sociological perspective would help me gain a better understanding. As previously stated, I only chose ads that I feel I identified with. I never even tried to understand any other ad or perspective. I can admit that before this class, I was very biased with the way I operated daily. Going forward I plan to approach things with an open mind so that I may further my appreciation for other cultures. Cliché but my world will be a better place now that I can broaden my perspective. My views on political issues have been altered now that I’m able to see the other side. However, it does prompt more questions, one that sticks out is What will it take for more people to become socially conscious?

References Boyd, Callum S., Ritch, Elaine L., Dodd, Christopher A., McColl, Julie. Inclusive identities: re- imaging the future of the retail brand?. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 2020, Vol. 48, Issue 12, pp. 1315-1335. Dove: Empowering Idents. 2020. Ogilvy. https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/film/dove_sky_witness_empowering_idents Unilever: United We Stand. https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/content/unilever_united_we_stand Olay #Makespaceforwomen https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/film/olay_makespaceforwomen?className=collection- lb&contentid=382324&inline=true#collection-lb-content Google Body Type. https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/integrated/google_hmct_body_type

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