Dove

So a lot of my friends are sharing this Dove ad. You know, the one with the forensics artist? He draws women how they see themselves and the whole thing is suppose to teach us that we are more beautiful than we think we are and boost our confidence and self-worth.

Does anyone else have a problem with this?

This whole campaign is perpetuating the lie that a woman's worth is in her appearance. Dove is saying that women must strive to be beautiful because it is through beauty that we attain strength and power. And when they celebrate "all women," they only show conventionally attractive, predominately pale, thin to moderately thin women in their ads. Thus perpetuating very narrow standards of beauty.

Another huge problem I have with Dove is their parent company Unilever which owns Axe. Don't get me started on the recent Axe Apollo commercials (women portrayed as overly sexualized, ultimately fickle damsels in distress). Dove and Axe are sibling companies, both with campaigns designed to appeal to opposite sexes, both sexist in their own ways.

Have you seen these commercials? What was your initial response?

Dove/Axe 1/Axe2

Anti-Corporate Anyday

via

You know how all these pretty blogs have a day of the week dedicated to sharing lovely, expensive things they want to buy? I thought it might be nice to take a break from all those distracting superficialities and turn the brights on the corruption of it all. What do you say?

I heard an ad on the radio that really upset me. It was a Wal-Mart ad. I don't know about you, but I never hear Wal-Mart ads, except for maybe a short sponsor spot on public radio. This W-M ad offered to beat local sales. Bring in a coupon from any local store and W-M will beat their prices!

My family lives in a part of town that a generation ago was comprised entirely of mom and pops. I mean, this area was jam-packed with small town staples like the hardware store, diners, post office, cotton gin, feed & seed, local grocer, etc. Now there's Bi-Lo, a recently closed K-Mart, BP, Big Lots, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Hardees, Wendy's and so on.

Most of the local places are long gone and the ones that remain don't have a chance if a big box store comes in and promises to beat their prices. The Quick Stop Garden Spot workers have grandkids. They can't mark their stuff down any more. Their only defense against corporate bullies is all of us loyal customers. And we are all poor anyway.

But I guess as long as the Waltons want more money, what's to stop them from getting it? After all, profit is the highest value of our society.