Representation Analysis

Representation in the media, or rather lack of, has been a large issue that has not been addressed till very recently. The definition of representation is the portrayal of someone or something in a particular way, and throughout the past years, the media has had a terrible run with it. By either ignorantly representing certain groups or not representing them at all, the media created long-lasting negative effects on their audiences. Today I will be analyzing two ads and how their representation may affect their audience.

"Spray More- Get More- The Axe Effect" 

The first advertisement is from Axe Body Spray. Essentially the ad consists of women desperately running through an island to reach a man who is spraying the product on himself. To begin, this ad has major issues in both the representation of women and the representation of races. After rewatching the video several times one can accurately say that there are only two POC women visible throughout the entire production. This is a terrible representation for two reasons. The first is the inaccuracy of the amount of POCS compared to the number of white people. Though people of colour are a minority, they're not a minority of two to hundreds of white women. The second one is that by only including two people of colour, the producers of this are basically stating that white women are more desirable to men since in this ad the purpose of the women is to appease the man. This purpose displayed also plays part in the issue with representing women. With the slogan, "spray more-get more" this ad dehumanizes women to the level of a spray, an object. This sends a message to viewers that this belief, that women are on the same level of objects, is okay. 

"Close the Loop"

On the other hand, the second ad from H&M displays amazing representation. It promotes diversity while also breaking gender roles and stereotypes like men not being able to wear skirts, and how there certain colours for each sex (pink for women and blue for men). It promotes breaking fashion norms and trends, such as wearing red when you're a redhead and wearing brown shoes at night. And even though the topic of this ad isn't race and ethnic diversity, this H&M add still hired actors with different backgrounds and cultures, creating an accurate representation of the world and the people in it. The effects this ad has on its viewers is that it's okay to be you, and that social norms shouldn't stop that, and of coruse the aim of the ad which is to recycle your clothes.