I just got back from an AmeriCorps reunion, during which my friend Angela told me about this fascinating Kotex ad she had seen on TV the week before. Check it out:
So, my first reaction was: this ad is genius and refreshing in the meta way that it blatantly calls out all of the stock ways that big-time advertisers (in this case, for feminine products) try to sell to women. Rock on for pointing out that advertisers so often use lame mainstream tactics of playing on standard definitions of beauty and trying to convince viewers that this or that product will make you and your life “better” and more like what you see in the commercial—and for pointing out that such appeals are boring and obnoxious.
But my second reaction: but, wait, they’re still selling something. Only now they’re just marketing themselves as a “cool” and “alternative.” Even though their product, from what I can tell, is pretty standard (and I’m not even going to start thinking about what they’re made of, the environmental impact of their production and use, etc.). So basically they’re just co-opting “subversive” to sell a product? Ugh.
So, I’m torn. What do you think?
5 comments
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April 21, 2010 at 9:58 pm
JenB
Agreed – they’re just trying to sell a product like every other company out there.
http://consumerist.com/2010/03/u-by-kotex.html
They’ve been at it since 1921:
http://www.mum.org/urkotex.htm
April 22, 2010 at 6:16 am
Elena
Is it all business?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/business/energy-environment/22earth.html?ref=todayspaper
April 25, 2010 at 9:01 am
Mo
It’s very interesting. I feel like it goes over the line when she says, “You wish you could be me.” I really reject that, but up until then I have the same thought that it’s clever, it makes me listen. But still it’s the same idea, “Oh kotex is clever, I am clever, I will by kotex as a confirmation of my cleverness.”
Though I also have to say that neon colored tampons, as it seems for the 3 seconds they are on screen, do not appeal to me. That plus I prioritize chemical-free tampons means this has not had the desired effect on me. But I must say I’ve never thought so much about a tampon ad, so props to them still.
April 26, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Rachel
Thinking of effective advertisements:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2010/apr/26/john-lewis-ad
June 21, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Super Kit
Well, they do have to advertise….they just did it in the most classy way ever.
They aren’t running with this plain-Jane alternative in other realms of advertising (store endcaps, promotions, etc.), but they are making a point about how they are consistent within being….lame. ‘Cept for these fun commercials. 😉