Ad Analysis: Labels Against Women – Pantene (2013)

Another Ad Analysis! This time I am looking at Pantene's Labels Against Women campaign (2013). I saw this advert while watching a video (yes, a game trailer) on YouTube and it struck me and stayed with me. I recall a class in English language when we looked at the word “client” and the differences when used in the context of different genders. The argument was that if a man was said to have clients, he was a businessman. However if a woman was said to have clients, she would be thought of as a prostitute due to the contextual connotations surrounding the word “client”. Thankfully, perceptions have changed; however, it seems deep-rooted that the word client could possibly be seen as a pejorative term for describing a woman’s business associates.

Similar, the word “emotional” was always linked to woman, both positively and negatively, be it emotionally fragile or happily emotional because they’d heard great news for example. However, with men, it seemed to be a sign of weakness and a derogatory word, completely removing his masculinity. Again, it seems deep-rooted that the word “emotional” can be damaging when describing a man which is strange since, biologically, chemically and neurologically, men and women both have emotions and is a totally natural fact of life, that men are derided for having emotions is wholly unfair. That something natural is seen as being negative and goes against the standards for male conduct shows that there is a lot to think about with seemingly simple words, which is why I found this advert thought provoking.

The juxtaposition of scenes with both men and woman lends itself to the comparative observation; on its own I do not think it would have been as powerful. We see “boss” turn into “bossy”, a simple addition of a y and perceptions change completely, dovetailing into the negative stereotype of a nagging woman.

However, an interesting analysis could be from the point of the product being cosmetic – the shampoo being used to talk about superficiality, that being superficial is not negative; it is empowering and does not mean you are shallow. It is quite daring for a product to discuss labels when it could be suggested they rely on (more positive labels) like “beauty” and “natural” to sell bottles. An interesting spin could have been showing a woman with no hair, the advert speaks about beauty being an integral part of a woman, but not to the extent where it should become a label or standard.

Nonetheless, it is powerful and emotive; “Be Strong and Shine” is not a directive to wash your hair, but to be show-stopping in other walks of life and to show resilience. Linguistically, “pushy”, “persuasive”, “bossy”, “boss” the use of alliteration is a simple but effective technique to cement the comparison with the same starting letters.

Overall, the comparisons are a look at how men and women are perceived, not everyone will agree with them, and some are more scathing than others, but what I have taken from this advert is how small words are very powerful, whether they relate to men or women, language is power.