Original Ad
This advertisement by Nivea is for a three in one shower gel product specifically targeted for men. In this advert, it features both a male and female in the shower together, to show the product in use. Even though the product is for male, a female is shown to attract viewers. In the picture, the man is more dominant compared to the girl. The female can be used to convince male consumers to purchase the product, inferring the idea that using this product will land users a girl. This showcases the sexist views and objectification of women. There is even a “GIRL NOT INCLUDED” text to suggest that men would need both the product and a girl. The female can be seen holding the cleaning tool and doing the cleaning for the man. This shows the gender stereotype problem that women should do the cleaning and housework instead of men. We always see the portrayals of women in advertisements that deal with housework or cleaning. Even though this product is for specifically designed for men, the ad still shows a woman shaving his body for him.
Furthermore, the models used in the advertisement are fit and stereotypically the ideal body shapes. This creates the problem of unrealistic expectations for people. Using this product would not be a solution for people to have bodies like the models. Based on their intimacy, users would think that using the product will make their relationships happier because they become more attractive for their significant other. Overall, Nivea is using gender stereotypes to attract users to their product. It does not focus on the quality of the product, but on the attractiveness, which is not always true and can be misinformation.
Jammed Ad
The jammed version of this ad targets the theme of being attractive after using this product. I have changed the captions and the name of the brand from the original ad to highlight the social stereotypes that the picture depicted. The original ad had “Shower, Shampoo, and Shave” as a description of the three in one product, but I changed it to “Dominant, Sexy, and Attractive”, to highlight the original social message that using the product will help one achieve those traits. Also, having those adjectives draw attention to the model’s bodies. This shows the absurdity of unrealistic expectations of being “attractive”. I also added “land you dream girl” under that to show the message that using the product is one step closer to being more attractive to women. Instead of “What men want”, which could have a double meaning of either a wanting a product that is more convenient and simpler, versus wanting a girl, I made it into “Be more Attractive”, highlighting that what men want is the girl. Furthermore, I removed another caption describing the three in one capability and replaced it with “as clean as a girl is doing it for you”. I used this caption to reveal another reason why a female is presented this way in the ad. Since the girl is shaving the man’s body for him, it highlights the gender issue that women are known for their housework and cleaning. It illustrates that even when a man is using the product alone, it will shave as well as if a woman is doing it. Overall, the alterations that I made show the underlying social messages of the ad more clearly.
