SO WHAT?

Advertising is all around us in today's media saturated society. Not only does it reflect the values and norms of the time, but also informs them by telling the viewer how they can improve upon their life. By appealing to our values, successful ads are able to create desire for almost anything in the viewer. They make the viewer question their beliefs in order to sell something. On the other hand, unsuccessful ads can do the opposite, only furthering ones lack of desire for whatever is being sold or allowing them to build upon their preexisting values. 

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In an attempt to sell to widen their targeted demographic, Tide chose to change their entire advertising campaign from the past 50 years. While somewhat shortsighted and poorly executed, the removal of women from Tide ads was a smart move. Not only did it appeal to men who do laundry, but also women who are tired of feeling like they are supposed to be doing laundry because that's what's expected, because, well, it is. According to Kantar’s “Getting Gender Right Report,” 98% of baby, laundry and household cleaner ads are directed towards women. Furthermore 45% of consumers think that women in ads are portrayed in outdated ways, so Tide's idea was not off base, just poorly executed. In an article from the American Marketing Association, they make it clear through multiple surveys that most consumers are in support of more gender neutral advertising. They urge brands to move away from gender specific and stereotypical ideas in order to appeal the most to the modern consumer. Now Tide wants you to think that they have done exactly that, and the expectation that women should be homemakers is gone, but unfortunately they hinted at it too many times in their ads for that to be true. Even though they made a small step in the right direction, it is important to acknowledge that it cannot truly be progressive if a man must be shown as more feminine in order to be doing laundry.