Makeup Advertisement Analysis: Critical Essay

Reading Our Lips: A Reflection of Lipstick Advertising from 1920-2019

What makes something beautiful? Each culture has a set of general beliefs about what constitutes femininity and beauty (Frith et al., 2009, p.193). Beauty is a discourse of society and it is constantly changing and reflecting societal values of the given time period. For example, Marilyn Monroe was the beauty ideal in the US in the 1950s and then replaced by Twiggy in the sixties (Frith et al, p. 194). Therefore, beauty is partially defined and represented by the cultural and social beliefs of a given time period. Advertisers, specifically for makeup, promote the ideal beauty of the time period in order to reinforce this societal construct, which women are striving for. For an advertiser’s message to resonate with a target audience, marketing theory is used to reflect the social and cultural norms (Frith et al., p.196). Within Western patriarchal societies, women’s bodies are for the objective of the male gaze – which is depicted in makeup advertisements. Throughout the waves of feminism, advertisements have changed and reflected the societal value of women. When comparing lipstick advertisements from North America, starting from the post-suffrage movement, advertisements have mirrored the changes in the advertiser's perceptions of beauty, and is outlined below.

First-wave feminism was the time of the 19th and 20th centuries when women fought for equality and within this time period, the United States was becoming a consumer society (Sangster, 2016, p. 10). Women became the primary consumers during this period, as the new economy was producing mass amounts of goods that needed to be purchased. Commodities were being advertised as a way “to fill the cracks of a shattered world and promised to make that world secure in an exciting new way” (Ascher, 1987, p.51). Playing with an emotional tone, advertisers began to sell their products to women. Prior to the 20th century, makeup was only worn by prostitutes and movie stars and was referred to as paint (“Flappers”, 2018). During the post-suffrage movement came the rise of flappers, who represented sexually liberated and independent women – and women that wore makeup (Fox, 2016, p. 372). Applying makeup was a way to be noticed which brought the inclusion of red lipstick, as it represented being bold and free.

The advertisement titled “New Kind of Permanent Lipstick” is a painting of a young-looking girl (See Appendix A for the advertisement). This advertisement came from the 1920s era and represents the idealistic beauty of this period - which was a fair, short-haired, young woman. The 'Flapper' girl strived for this look as it was going against previous beauty standards which had included long hair, but now they wanted to have a more boyish look (“Flappers”, 2018). The ideology of wanting to look young came from the flapper girl culture that was breaking the old norms. In the writing of the advertisement, it discusses how this new lipstick will stop your lips from wrinkling and being dull. Both of these could be described as older characteristics that flapper girls wanted to avoid, incentivizing women to buy this product.

Ironically, the advertisement is a painted image, representing a product that was once referred to as paint. When beauty products began to come out in this time period, there were limited shades, which gave an unnatural look to makeup (“Flappers”, 2018). Having the women in the advertisement painted can be looked at as unobtainable, as no one will ever be able to match this complexion or coloring. Red lipstick was seen as an accessory to represent strength, calling colors “fighting red” and “patriot red” (“A History of Red Lipstick”, 2014). The way in which makeup had been advertised in this period demonstrates the political, social, and cultural changes that were happening in society. Women were becoming liberated and free, and this was mirrored in the advertisements and the ideals of beauty of the time period.

After the roaring twenties, there was an economic shift – the Great Depression. Consumer spending and investment began to drop with many people losing their jobs. Women's employment began to increase due to the ability to be underpaid. From 1930 to 1940 the employment number for women in the United States increased by 24 percent (Remy, 2015). Although women's employment rates increased, the societal value of their jobs was viewed as less. The discourse of society placed white males in front of women, as they had a seemingly higher value. In the 1920’s we began to see women feeling liberated and free, but the economic downturn of this period brought financial insecurity and many women had to depend on men to survive.

In a lipstick advertisement from the 1930s, the caption reads “He Doesn’t Kiss Me Anymore!” The woman in the advertisement is seen crying because she is not getting kissed, as he said her lips were too red and smeary (See Appendix B for the advertisement). The red lips that were worn in the 1920s represented bold women, which was no longer the case during The Great Depression. As the advertised lipstick color changed, so did the gender role. Men were frustrated by women taking their jobs, and the freedom they were finding. 26 states had laws prohibiting the employment of married women, as men were tired of the “backward world” of women being the breadwinner (Remy, 2015). This advertisement symbolized men controlling the ways in which women should be acting through the makeup she is wearing. The Tangee Lipstick that is enticing this woman with a kiss, is presented in an orange shade, which is far from the “rebelling red”.

In the 1930s natural makeup was presented for women, as it was representing safety (Souhami, 2018). Advertisers had to present natural makeup in a clear way, as natural can be confused with no makeup, which is not what they were trying to sell. Many advertisers played with the relationship between men and women throughout their advertisements, as they made cosmetics seem like a factor to guarantee marriage. Advertisements played on the ideology of makeup as a way for men to love the way you look, which in this period was done through natural-looking makeup. This advertisement is also displaying women wearing makeup for male approval. This is reinforcing the time period that this was created, as women were wanting male attention and a husband in order to survive this economic downturn. The way the advertisement is presented through a drawing presents the male in a business suit and the woman in a house dress. This is reiterating and reinforces the ideology of this time period - males should be at work and women should remain pretty at home tending to their man and his whims.

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Moving into the 1960s, we experience a second wave of feminism. As more women were entering the workforce, there was an increased dissatisfaction with the amount of pay and respect women had (Walsh, 2010). This brought the women’s liberation movement, that was fighting for equal rights and opportunities. The attitude of the American culture during the sixties represented sexual inequalities. As an example, women had to get their husbands to sign on their credit cards, and if they did not have a husband, they might not be able to get one (McLaughlin, 2014). The women’s liberation movement was also fighting for issues that included reproductive rights as thirty states had made it a criminal offense to sell contraceptive pills (Walsh, 2010). As women began to stand up for their rights, the sixties became a time for the sexual revolution – which began to change traditional sexual roles. 80% of wives had begun to use contraception, and in 1965 the Supreme Court established the right for married couples to use contraception (Walsh, 2010).

Advertisers began to play on this ideology of the sexual revolution and created advertisements that portrayed women in a sexual manner. In a lipstick advertisement by Cutex, they named the product “Forbidden Fruits”, which correlates with the freeing nature of sex in the sixties (see Appendix C for advertisement). the analogy of forbidden fruit represents something that is desired but not allowed, prior to the contraception pill, sexual intercourse was seen as a way to have a baby, but the pill changed this. The picture of the woman in this advertisement is positioning her to be looking up, showcasing how women are beneath men. The text found in this advertisement reads “Could you ask for a newer, cooler way to collect men?” This displays that wearing makeup is for men and a way to be seen as pretty. The woman in this advertisement is a white, blonde, blue-eyed lady. This was the idealistic woman in this time period, as a Twiggy-girl was what was deemed as beautiful (Frith et al, p. 194). This was the look of sporting a short haircut, dramatic eyes, and light-colored lips. It is noteworthy that in this period there were very few advertisements for women of color. This was a period of sexist advertisements that portrayed women buying products, such as lipstick, in order to get a male’s attention.

Fast forward, to 1990, and into the third wave of feminism. The goal of third-wave feminism was to fight for the end of violence against women. This was started by Anita Hill testified against Clarence Thomas for sexually harassing her at the workplace (Black and Allen, 2018, p. 33). This sparked many women coming forward about sexual harassment that they had experienced. 1992 was deemed the “Year of the Women” with 24 women-owned seats in the House of Representatives and an increase in women in the House by 5% (Charleswell, 2015). This brought women to fight for their equality and to stand up against violence that had been occurring for way too long. Third-wave feminism allowed women to embrace makeup and femininity. During the 1990s lipstick for women was red again or frosted with a pencil outline. The red lips were brought back, as women were supposed to be seen as equals, and in working positions just as men were.

The Revlon advertisement from the 1990s displays working women (see Appendix D for the advertisement). As this time period was when women used their voices and worked alongside men, their makeup was portrayed in the same way. The line was called “Street Wear”, which shows the changing representation of women as they were leaving the home, and heading to work, just like men. The colors that Revlon used were all bold, just like the women in this period. This again displays how advertisement reflected the political, cultural, and social movements of the period, with this advertisement being very different than previous periods.

Fourth-wave feminism is viewed as 2010 and on, which takes us into advertisements today. The focus is on sexual harassment, body shaming, and the inclusion of women of different ethnicities. This is reflected in today's advertisements with more empowerment and diversity being exemplified. This is displayed in numerous makeup brands, as the ideology of beauty has significantly changed. Fenty Beauty has showcased the beauty of women of all skin tones in a great way with their campaign using women of all ethnicities and cultures to present them within this campaign (see Appendix E for advertisement). This demonstrates inclusion marketing as women are being represented equally and this change occurred due to the culture of society –although we are not perfect, there is becoming a higher representation of minorities in the media. Today the way makeup is being sold is more about the power of the women, rather than wearing makeup for a male’s approval like yesteryear.

The L’Oréal advertisement reads “This is an Ad for Men” in bold letters (see Appendix E Figure 2 for the advertisement). This draws the attention of both males and females, which leads to the second line “Hire more women in leadership roles. We’re all worth it”. The advertisement portrays lipstick coming out of a tube and representing a graph, that states 15% more revenue is achieved with female leaders. Although this advertisement is selling red lipstick it also delivers a potent message that matches society today. Despite women having become more accepted in the workforce the discourse of society still puts them behind males in leadership roles. The ideology of fourth-wave feminism is to fix this issue, which is shown in this L’Oréal advertisement - another powerful illustration that the social, cultural, and political elements of the era are being reflected in the current-day advertisements.

In the future, we will see more advertisements for men and makeup. As the ideology of gender is becoming more fluid, men wearing makeup is becoming more normal. Recently, Covergirl used their first man, James Charles, to portray the issue (See Appendix F for the advertisement). With a full face of makeup, Charles is representing the change of makeup. In a Tom Ford advertisement, the caption reads “Lips and Boys”, and shows a man getting lipstick put on (see Appendix F Figure 2 for advertisement). The lipstick in this collection is named after males, but not with the intention for them to be wearing it. As this becomes more mainstream in society it will be more reflected in advertisements – as advertising is an agency of reflecting social, cultural, and political norms.

Advertising places a major role in shaping our society, as we see thousands of advertisements every single day. It is estimated that we are exposed to 4,000-10,000 advertisements each day (Pounders, 2018). Advertisements have the ability to shape how we view ourselves in society, as they display what the perceived beauty standard is. Culturally, the beauty standard is constructed, and advertisements reiterate this on multiple platforms. Previously, the advertisements have a lot of text and provided a description of the product. They also used paintings and comics to advertise. Throughout the century, advertisements have become more sexualized. In the past, lipstick advertising had a lot to do with kissing men and making them happy. Now, we are seeing advertisements about empowering women, and equality. Although society is not perfect, we are seeing more advertisements about wearing makeup to be beautiful for ourselves and less about impressing men. Throughout the past century, women in society have changed their roles significantly as they have worked hard for equality. This is seen through the advertising of lipstick, as the way women are portrayed in the past was for men, and sexual - now in more enlightened times, it is for themselves and empowerment.

References

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