The world’s second largest fashion retailer recently made a deliberate move to attract members of the world’s second largest religion, and people have taken notice. More specifically, H&M featured a Muslim hijabi woman for a split second in this video advertising spot that deftly disguises a sly cost-saving measure as an eco-friendly call for “sustainable fashion.” The […]
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No Comment: Target’s “Trophy” T-Shirt Is Sexist
Target is selling a shirt with the word “Trophy” printed across the front in big, bold letters—in its juniors section. (!) After stumbling upon the shirt in her local Target about a month ago, a Wisconsin woman launched a petition on Change.org calling for the company to stop selling the shirt. For a bit of background, […]
No Comment: “Skinny People Eat Skinny Pasta”
If you live in Los Angeles, you’re probably used to seeing billboards featuring barely dressed, thin, gorgeous models all over town. And if you’ve been paying attention recently, you may have seen those same models being used to advertise pasta—yes, pasta. With billboards now up in the L.A. area, new food brand skinnypasta has moved its marketing campaign out of […]
Hoodwinked by Pandora
Just in time for Mother’s Day, Pandora jewelry has released a video ad entitled “The Unique Connection” featuring a group of children who, when blindfolded, are able to single out their mothers from a crowd using scent and touch. Set to Joshua Radin’s folky “Celebrate Her,” the moms watch anxiously as the children hesitatingly stumble […]
A Super Bowl of Racial Candor?
We will see a historic ad today during the Super Bowl. A 60-second ad to end domestic violence, from the “No More” public service campaign, will play for audiences in the midst of the football revelry—just as ads from this campaign have aired during countless regular and postseason games. But isn’t it time that we […]
The 10 Most Feminist Ads of 2014
The last year was full of advertisements highlighting smart, strong women and men that defied traditional gender roles. While advertisements are—at their core—just marketing ploys for our chronically capitalist society, this year’s ads highlight the palatable version of feminism that’s taking the country by storm. Feminism’s popularity is rising, so media campaigns are catering to the […]
We Heart (and Question): New Commercial from Always
Last week, Always released a new commercial that challenges the notion that doing something “like a girl” means anything less than doing it well. The ad first features people who are supposedly auditioning for a commercial. When the director (who is a woman) tells them to “run like a girl” or “fight like a girl,” […]
Put Down That Barbie (2013 Edition)–And Find Empowering Dolls!
For centuries, dolls have helped children develop their socioemotional skills by teaching them how to empathize with others. Last year, dolls raked in nearly $2.7 billion in sales, making them one of the toy industry’s biggest items. However, not all of today’s dolls offer emotionally healthy experiences for children. Increasingly, parents are speaking out against […]
Dove Has A Beauty Problem
In April, I posted Dove’s Real Beauty campaign video on my Facebook with the caption, “You’re more beautiful than you think.” At first glance, this video seemed comforting, almost therapeutic as an antidote against our airbrushed versions of beauty typified by Hollywood and glossy magazine covers. Instead of telling women to lose weight, apply makeup correctly […]
If Male Models Can Come In Different Sizes, Female Models Can, Too
Male underwear models are known to be dudes with chiseled abs, huge biceps, overdeveloped pecs and a bulging … well, you’ve seen the advertising. But recently, The New York Times reported that underwear companies are beginning to rethink what a male model should look like—the old stereotype may just be “too sexy” to appeal to the average, […]