I like this ad where knockout-gorgeous bombshell TV and movie star
Sofia Vergara suggests that she’s not willing to even leave her house without
makeup caked onto her face. And if someone like her isn’t willing to be seen
without makeup on, then nobody else should be allowed to be either! (I hope
that’s all clear, everyone! {Sarcasm!})
This ad is hilarious to me, and not in a good way. First
off, she’s gorgeous anyway, and the only reason she might want to worry about
leaving her house without makeup on is that there are probably paparazzi staked
out on her lawn 24-hours-a-day! (You know they like to sell embarrassing
photos, or even manipulated non-embarrassing ones, too! So she has to be careful to look camera-ready all the time.
{And celebrities have a makeup mandate, apparently.}) But none of the rest of
the over 150 million females in America have this shutterbug infestation issue,
so shouldn’t they spell that out in this ad?
The fact is, most women look better without makeup anyway,
especially with how much people cake it on nowadays. And ads like this simply
serve to make people feel insecure so they’ll buy the products to assuage some
perceived flaw. I hate that kind of advertising! How about showing how certain
looks can be improved or accentuated, rather than acting like every woman is
ugly without makeup? The fact is, everybody looks normal without makeup, and
too much makeup makes everyone look tacky, but some people can slightly improve their
looks with a little makeup. Oh, but maybe that wouldn’t sell enough makeup, so they have to try to brainwash everyone into
looking like clowns! Yay!
I have a challenge for most women out there: Go out without
your makeup, and go out with it, and see what people say, and how they act.
I’ll bet it won’t be much of a difference, unless you wear too much makeup, in
which case you might see some strained looks and some whispering behind your
back. You don’t need it: just use it if
you like it, and don’t use too much, because there’s a stigma that goes along
with that I’ll bet you don’t
want. (But you probably look fine the way you are! These ads should say: “Be
yourself, and if we can help accentuate your looks to bring out more of what
you want people to see, then great: but you’re beautiful the way you are!” But
that might not sell enough face paint, so…)
And by the way, I’m not anti-makeup. I just don’t think
women need it, and I really don’t like advertising strategies that are designed
to create and then exploit an insecurity that shouldn’t exist anyway: that’s
all. But makeup looks great in photography, in movies, etc.; it’s just that
it’s not necessary in everyday life, and I don’t like the cultural pressure on
women to wear makeup all the time, especially because they don’t need it. If
they want it, fine; but this ad is basically saying:
“Wow, look: This super hot star needs
makeup all the time, so imagine
how much more you must need it,
since you’re not as hot as her!” (That is the implication, anyway; and you
can’t deny that, even if you vehemently disagree with me on everything else
I’ve said here. And I don’t like that kind of strategy: I think it's unnecessary and underhanded. Makeup ads should show you how it can help and why you want it, rather than make you feel as though you need it because you’re “not good enough” without it!)
Here’s the brainwashing “beauty” broadcast:
