In the video Killing Us Softly it is pointed out that in addition to selling products advertisements also sell sex and normalcy. They tell us who we should be and what we should look like. Advertisements also tell women that they most important thing is how we look. They tell us how we should get that look and most importantly if we don’t succeed then we failed. Often these images are unrealistic. They set up standards that are impossible for the average women to reach.
Some advertisements are trying to go against these ideas. For example the Dove campaign is encouraging that women come in all shapes and sizes. The ad is encouraging that size isn’t everything.
However this is a rare idea most ads still encourage the perfect body and the image of what women should be. For example most high fashion ads like Versace, Prada and Channel show images of women who are unrealistically thin. In addition the commercials for the male body spray Axe use the tagline “How Dirty Boys get Clean.” It shows a man who uses the spray and then women jump all over him. The ad makes it look like women are so easily swayed that all men need to do is wear it.
As the text points out these ideas often come from white men in power positions. They are often not even close to what actual norms in reality are.