Message Overload: Read pages 26 & 27 in your book. Keep track of all the ad messages you see from when you wake up to when you go to sleep on one day. What are all the messages trying to sell you or say to you? How do you feel about what the ads show as desirable, what success or popularity or beauty looks like? How would you feel about the ads if you were another type of girl from another background, race, ethnicity, etc.
Take a look at this short film called “Evolution” created by Dove as part of it’s campaign on self esteem. What do you think about the transformation of this model? Does it make you wonder about what we think is pretty? What is the message that advertisers are giving you? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
51 replies on “Monitor Award Activity – What are the Messages Telling You?”
Something that I noticed from all the ads I saw today is that they sold an abstract feeling along with the physical product. For instance, an ad I saw for Starbucks iced coffee advertised it as “drinking comfort.” The commercial depicted an actor drinking an iced coffee that summoned his grandmother who immediately hugged him. I have tried these iced coffees, and they aren’t (in my opinion) a particularly comforting food. They are delicious, refreshing, the perfect way to start your morning – but not comforting. It surprised me that instead of advertising something that this iced coffee actually did, it instead had to link it to an abstract feeling. I have seen this in a lot of the other ads today, and I think it shows that we are supposed to attach emotional value on the food and drink we consume.
As for Evolution, I think the most striking thing about it to me is how much of what I see online is manufactured. Even though I know it, when ads are presented to me in a familiar manner (i.e., an influencer sponsorship, or a commercial where the model looks like she has no makeup on) I still somehow forget. It’s important to remember that even the most informal-looking ads with models who looked like they just woke up are nowhere close to depicting what real women look like.
I do wonder what we actually think is pretty and how it is different to everyone. The transformation of the model took a while and there was loads of makeup. There messages makeup creators gives us is they want everyone to look the same and flawless Witch is not possible. Everyone is beautiful by being unique and different.
Every ad always has a model that looks thin and flawless so they can say that their product will make you look like the model. They over edit their models to look unrealistic so they can make money selling their products.
The products advertised were all represented by models that looked similar, with thin bodies and clear, flawless skin. The message being sent is that only thin girls are pretty, that you have to have flawless skin to look good, and none of that is possible without these products.
The ads that I was recommended all had models with similar features. For makeup and beauty ads all the models resemble the same desirable features and the ads were trying to get you to buy the product by saying if you use this you will look like the model. If I were to look drastically different from those girls I would feel not represented and like I am not as pretty. The transformation of the model made me think about how girls feel like they need to change and how the people we compare ourselves to get edited and changed. We are comparing ourselves to people who are edited and filtered to look more stereotypically beautiful. It makes me wonder what we see as pretty because even beautiful girls are edited to look more “beautiful”. The advertisers are trying to make us feel we need to change to look pretty.
The transformation of the model from makeup and photoshop creates a unattainable beauty standard. It is trying to get people to buy a product that they think will make them look like the woman in the poster but in reality the woman on the poster doesn’t look like the final poster either. The existence of heavily photoshopped media can cause insecurity in people of all ages and genders.
The Dove self-esteem video made me sad, because it shows how much work companies put in to make there models look “pretty” for the public, but in reality they go through a lot of make-up and photo shop to look “pretty” for the people. That makes peoples self-esteems go down because they dont think they are pretty like the people we see on the internet.
The Dove self esteem shows that are community thinks that the only way to be pretty is by lots of photo shop and makeup. This also shows how it is hard for people to identify if someone is pretty because most models are photo shopped and not using their true beauty. This can hurt lots of peoples self esteem as they grow up. This does make me wonder how do we consider who is pretty.
The video made me fairly sad with how much the had to edit her to make her look “pretty” and how they even photoshopped her. I think that our perception about what makes a person pretty is very skewed. Many people have this image of what beauty looks like, and companies often use models that fit that mold to market their products and make more money. Over time, its become our standard, and we’ve become used to that perception of beauty. I think the message that the video is trying to show us is that what we see in makeup ads and on billboards are not representations of the actual person. Media portrayal of beauty standards are very hard to reach and if you do reach them, its often not sustainable. I think that its telling us that we have to be aware of all the ways woman are portrayed in media and take how they are portrayed with a grain salt because they’ve often been heavily made up or edited to fit the very narrow box that is beauty standards.
In the video, they added makeup and did her hair in a certain way. During the editing process they changed how her natural face looks into something they believed was what beauty should be. They made her have a skinnier, longer neck, skinnier face/cheekbones, bigger eyes, pulled her hair back, and made her skin smooth and clear. The message they are giving is what they think “pretty” looks like and the only way you will look pretty is if you look like that.
This video’s messsage is that the “perception of beauty” has been misinterpreted because of the media. A model’s face has been through hours of make up and hair to be percived as “pretty” as so much edit it that the original model and the girl in the picture are not the same person. This video shows that natural beauty is no what you see online and instead, it is what is in the real world with no filter.
I think that the way people look like is different than what people can make them look like and that can change how a person sees themselves.
Some people dislike their features if they aren’t considered the norm beauty. But even some people with those features adjust themselves to fit the standard. Beauty can be a standard set and then repeatedly used in advertising and media to make it seem like the norm or what people should try to achieve. But beauty is also how you view yourself you could think you were gorgeous, it doesn’t matter if you don’t match a billboard model.
The ad shows how make-up and enhancements can alter the appearance of people to create “beauty”. It shows natural beauty isn’t beautiful and that make-up, skin and hair products and computer technology creates what beauty should look like.
The adds I have been seeing is mainly revolved around shows music and toys, making me want to listen or see it for myself. The adds I see are rarely based around makeup or body image due to the fixations I indulge in. When I do see those how ever, they are mainly based on what people see as “needing to be fixed” like acne or scent related. I don’t enjoy seeing the adds in general and many of them are centered around the “perfect girl” stereotype of dirty blond blue eyed girls. The transformation of the model made me question the women I see in billboards or commercials I see. I feel like women should be embraced for the way they look rather then having to change constantly to fit beauty standards. Many have different depictions of pretty, yet women often compare themselves to others and buy products from adds to feel better about themself.
The transformation makes a world of difference, and the standard of beauty is having flawless skin, straight white teeth, perfect hair, and painted makeup. A regular girl cannot uphold this. True beauty is on the inside.
this makes me think that the people we idolize and the things we are told to think are beautiful are not obtainable by the average girl and we are made to think that we should be a certain way but not even the people we idolize look that way
The model was painted with makeup. Although makeup is not always bad, natural beauty is always perfect. This AD made me realize that a lot of times what we see and what we think is “Beauty” is most of the time fake or distorted to seem flawless. The purpose of this AD was to make people realize that sometimes the people that we see and feel like we need to look like are not always how they seem.
Like Dove says at the end, “No wonder our sense of beauty is distorted.” This short film/video reminds us that no matter how good-looking someone can be, it’ll never be enough. Society has warped people’s perspective on what is beautiful and what isn’t.
i got an add from noom about a weight lose diet because i looked somethings up once and now it is stuck with it forever
The messages I’ve gotten have been from Grammarly they want me to buy help for writing. The ad is showing that society thinks that unrealistic body standards are pretty, the ad is just showing that most photos of models you see are photoshoped.
the transformation of this model has a lot of different changes with most of them being with related to makeup but others bein with hair and editing.
I think that to model, you should be you, be natural and you should’nt need all of that to look ‘good’.
I think the change from what you saw in the beginning to the end was insane. Nobody should ever compare themselves to the models they see anywhere because they will always have so much editing and professional work done to their images.
I think the transformation of the model is unfair because the editor is editing the model’s picture.
The difference between the first time we see her face and the “final product” is astounding. No one should ever compare themselves to this; the amount of editing that was put in for a single beauty add is ridiculous. These unrealistic standards are why women have such a hard time with loving themselves for who they are.
I agree with the message, yet I have conflicting emotions about it.Yes, you have the right to do whatever you want with your face; after all, it is yours!Whether you’re wearing makeup or not, you’re still stunning.However, some people enjoy wearing makeup for the sheer pleasure of it and have no negative makeup background, so don’t assume that all women feel anxious about themselves.
I agree with the message but I also have mixed feelings about it. Yes, you are obligated to do whatever you like on your face, it’s your face after all! Wear makeup or don’t wear makeup, you’re still gorgeous. But at the same time, some ladies like to wear makeup just for the fun of it and have no bad background of makeup, so at the same time, don’t assume all women are insecure about themselves because they wear makeup.
I agree with everyone, women don’t need make up to look or feel beautiful. Also, the transformation of the model is too much and it didn’t really show them.
I agree with everyone; beauty standards are unrealistic and put pressure on people’s lives even though everyone is beautiful.
I agree with everyone that beauty standards are unrealistic and everyone is beautiful.
me too
This is one of the reasons why lots of people struggle to see their own beauty. This video shows that people today don’t feel like natural beauty is real anymore. The model went through lots of changes that were very unnecessary, the model was already beautiful. The people who are making this ad are trying to make a product appeal to people, but it’s not even real. This video also goes to show that what people are selling is fake and they are really saying that people’s natural beauty is not enough to be in there ads.
They seem like they are saying that real people are not good enough for the ads. Their idea of beauty is not realistic
I agree, that was one of the things that I took away from that video to.
I think it’s really good to see things like this, because it reminds you that this beauty standard, the lady on the billboard, doesn’t exist. They piled pounds of makeup on her, and then did a crazy amount of editing. She didn’t even look like herself at the end. Everyone is beautiful exactly the way they are, but people have trouble accepting that because the billboard face is the only one we ever see.
I agree with everyone here. That you don’t need make-up to show how beautiful you are, you are already beautiful just the way you are.
it seems they are trying to build your confidence in your self and it makes me feel but they should not have used makeup maybe it would be better if they be themselves and it will help build more self esteem.
This is powerful and shows that people are beautiful just the way they are
I feel like the transformation was showing us what pretty is and how we are supposed to look which its not. The video really showed me that the media can fool you and you can’t trust everyone and pictures can be deceiving. I feel like they are trying to show us and tell us how we are supposed to look.
I think that the message that dove was trying to send through that video was how much beauty products edit there photos of there models to make them look “perfect” when they looked pretty already and then they put it on a billboard then that gives people the impression that when they buy this product they will be perfect and you will look like the model in the picture.
I feel like the transformation of this model really shows us and makes me feel like are idea of pretty as been wrong because company’s are only letting us see what they want to see. The short film evolution makes me wonder how many companies do this to their models photo’s before actually posting them. I feel like advertisers are trying to tell people that you will look this hot or this pretty if you buy and use are products.
The video shows how an industrial advertisement for a makeup company, completely changes a person’s appearance using unrealistic editing and technology. Not to mention the amount of makeup and hair changes they added to her face while shooting the pictures. This shows how we take in so much untrue media that causes us to feel less than or not as beautiful. When in reality, the pictures that we compare ourselves to, are not natural people. They are edited and technologically changed to look “better.”
They try to tell you that there products are prefect.They also Tell you to buy are stuff because it makes you look pretty.One of my troop members said that some of the products that advertisers try to sell you don’t really work.All of these are some of all of my troop member.By 1102
i think that they are trying to just get you to buy the stuff that there trying to give by faking it
The transformation of the model was to from digital to real changes. Yes it makes me curious what beauty is because without makeup people aren’t pretty (to most people). The message that they are giving people is you can look pretty using their products.
most adds for makeup are like trying to tell you that you can look this good if you try our make up. or for toys or something they are trying to tell you if you are a grown up that your kids would love this or that your kids will not be happy if they do not have this toy or product of some sort
They were trying to attract people’s attention to the product so they put alot of makeup on which took like forever and then proceded to say hey buy this product you can look like this. “No photo shop needed.”, really really though because it took them like an hour just to put on the makeup and then they photoshopped almost everythig in the photo. Everbody is pretty in their own way and well yes you may think oh makeup makes me look pretty . Yes but even then you are already pretty now im not saying dont use makeup but dont use makeup because you’re insecure about the way you look. Everybodys butifull in their own way. Lol i wrote alot and started to get a little of track but still heres my answer.
yeah that was what I sort of meant
nice job
I agree stuff like this does put beauty standers high for women and girls. And they use beauty products to make it like that’s what made the models “ prettier”
I feel like what you are saying is really powerful and I wish everyone could hear this.
The transformation of the model was to many changes. Yes it makes me wonder what pretty is cause without makeup everyone is pretty. The message that they are giving people is you can look pretty using their products.