The theme I will focus on is the stereotype of women running households and with that I will pick the cleaning brand „OxiClean“ to show examples and analyze.
When I watch OxiClean commercials I get reminded of the first dishwasher commercials. Even though the commercial „Last Word In Automatic Dishwashing“ (1950) by Mullins Manufacturing Corporation is about 22 minutes long, both OxiClean and Mullins have a similar set up: Both represent a housewife doing dishes and struggling and in both videos there is a man’s voice explaining the process of cleaning and trying to sell the product.
The fact that OxiClean chose to advertise their products in the same way as cleaning items were advertised in the 50s shows their idea of household: men sell as business men and women buy as housewives being responsible for laundry and dishes.
In class we determined that „Arguments suggest that advertising perpetuates stereotypes and conditions us to accept supposedly predetermined roles.“ So does that mean OxiClean wants us to belief that women are expect to run the household, do dishes and wash clothes? Yes, it clearly looks like it. In every commercial women are brought in to either load a dish washer, fold clothes or put clothes on their children (OxiClean: Max Force Spray) They are caregivers and housewives.
I believe that in the case of OxiClean advertising is guilty of creating gender imbalances in society. As we all know, nowadays we don't have the common American family, in fact we have career women and stay home dads which seems to happen more and more. With a new family model we also need to adjust our perception and with that advertising has to change to address our products to the right group.
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