Skinnygirl Margarita

Original Advertisement

The problem with the original advertisement is just a subset of a much larger issue in advertising and society; inanimate objects being pointlessly gendered. There is still vast amounts of “gatekeeping” in society, regarding what objects are for what gender, and advertisements like this do not help in redefining norms which exist in society but serve no positive purpose, and instead do only harm.

This advertisement does two things.

First, it encourages gatekeeping based on gender; by insisting that only women can/should consume cocktails. From personal experience, I have experienced this gatekeeping and being judged for ordering cocktails, or fruity alcoholic beverages instead of beers or hard liquor. It is so common in society to view ordering those drinks as unmasculine, however that discretion is fundamentally arbitrary; backed by nothing except societal norms, repeated so many times that it became ingrained in everyone’s minds.

Second, even if we assume that the term “Skinny” in the brand is referring to the drink having low calories compared to its competitors, the fact that it is paired together with “girl”, inadvertently forces consumers to think and feel a certain way. It conveys the message of, “you want to drink this, to stay or become thinner, because that is society’s definition of beauty and you do not want to become an outcast”.

Jammed Advertisement

My alteration of the advertisement changed it in a way that more accurately represents anyone who is allowed to consume the product being sold. The previous tagline of “The margarita you can trust” has been changed to “The margarita that anyone over the legal drinking age can consume”, which challenges the injurious message that only women should consume cocktails. The image of the girl on the bottle, has been replaced by a margarita glass, and the name of the drink, changed from “skinnygirl”, to “lowcalorieperson”. My alternation attempts to highlight the absurdity of limiting food, drinks, and other inanimate objects to specific genders. Another tagline is changed on the advertisement, unironically saying that this beverage “tastes exactly the same regardless of your gender”. An obvious statement, however often forgotten in the midst of all the different types of masculine and feminine advertising. This jammed advertisement aims to remind both consumers and advertisers to consider the negative implications of what advertising like this solidifies.