I could not agree more. An ad, regardless of how much it tries to equate the purchase of a product with being an empowered woman, is still an ad, and its ultimate goal is to sell the product.
I’ll share a bit from Mass Communications/Mass Media school:
In order to continue to sell a product, advertisers have to keep the product at the forefront of the consumer’s mind. (It isn’t enough for the consumers to know the product exists. They have to be reminded that the product exists. Seriously). The goal: Get the consumer to automatically associate the company’s brand when the need arises for a product. It’s to get you to think “Yoplait” anytime you think of yogurt. “Tampax” anytime you think of tampons.
Advertisers want consumers to associate “good” traits with their brand, too. That’s the reason behind Yoplait’s mom-empowerment ad and Dove’s body-positivity ads.
And this is best done with memorable ads.
That being said, you’re absolutely right. They’re designed to sell, but they sell better if the consumer associates the brand with something good. It takes good old-fashioned critical thinking to know that being an empowered female (or whatever) has nothing to do with the purchase of a product. :)
