Face mask ADS
Advertising has always been a mirror for societal norms and desires as it reflects evolving standards and ideals. Not only does advertising attempt to sell products, but also lifestyles, identities, ideologies, and remedies for everything, including insecurities. Through an analysis of ads from different eras we can understand shifting perceptions especially as it relates to beauty standards and the implication of underlying messages portrayed to its consumers/ audience. This blog post will examine the 1922 advertisement for Marguerite Sullivan’s complexion clay ( https://repository.duke.edu/dc/adaccess/BH1856) and how it compare to this contemporary advertisement for Omnilux LED light mask(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzJB51cWNQE). This analysis will therefore capture the evolution of advertising techniques in the beauty industry regarding face masks in the last century.

Is it appealing?
As explained in “The Rise and Fall of the TV commercial” by William O’Barr, after the 1950s televisions had become a much more common household item and suggests that this had created a more effective platform for the “uninvited salesman” to promote all kinds of goods and services. It's interesting that he notes print media as “ the frozen words and images,” however, which was supplemented with soundtracks/ music, vocals, and visuals. So what made print media effective in its frozen state? In our advertising appeals overview reading, its clear that these advertisements use methodical communication strategies to be attention grabbing and persuasive. The three main categories were ethos, pathos and logos being appeals to credibility, emotions, or logic. When analyzing ads however, these expand to adventure, bandwagon, brand, endorsement, fear, humor, less-than-perfect, masculine/ feminine, music, personal/ emotional, plain, play-on-words, rational, romance, scarcity, sex, snob, social, statistical, and youth appeals. Its most important to consider the contents and intended audience to recognize which appeals are most effective in this ad. The title states, “ Wonder clay brings new beauty to every skin,” but there is a picture of a beautiful woman in the corner, with a caption that declares, “ this marvelous discovery absorbs blemishes and impurities, lifts away the course, dull, unsightly complexion, and unmasks an entirely new complexion underneath- one as soft and smooth and charming as a childs! It cannot harm the most sensitive skin. It also begins by talking about breakthroughs in science and technology for beauty and discusses that this new discovery is based on years of research and experimentation to combat the wear-down of the skin. Next it explains how well it works, stating that the skin will be able to breathe as the clay “ removes pore poisons at once.” Then finally provides a low price since it's introduced as a limited time offer and provides the testimonies of three satisfied female customers stating that it helped reduce their large pores, wrinkles, and blackheads, and got them many compliments. Based on these characteristics it is evident that credibility/ an appeal to ethos is established through the scientific explanation and testimonies, as well as pathos/emotions of aging as a woman or having blemishes. From an advertising perspective however its evident that appeals to bandwagon, endorsement, fear, less-than-perfect, feminine, personal/ emotional, romance, scarcity, sex, and youth appeals are most prominent as women are subject to scrutiny and consider their youth, and beauty at stake slipping away. Additionally it plays into that fear of aging or unattractiveness and being less than perfect along with a fear of missing out on the deal.


What's so different anyway?
The first thing I noticed about the Omnilux LED light mask ad was that it was extremely simple and elegant and that they called the LED face mask a medical grade anti-aging phototherapy technology. The colors suggested a somewhat exclusive experience, with the red light, and mostly white background, and in accordance when I checked the price it cost about $400 for the mask and another $400 for the glove piece that treats the neck and chest area. This appeals use bandwagon- using various platforms, brand, endorsement from many other people as ambassadors on their website, fear, less-than-perfect, masculine/ feminine, personal/ emotional, plain, romance, scarcity, sex, snob, social, statistical, and youth appeal. There are arguably more appeals with this one because of the extent of endorsement from influencers and dermatologists etc., and scientific explanations, while keeping a similar undertone that health is beauty and a youthful appearance should be maintained through face masks. Instead of like the clay mask which claims to remove blemishes, the LED mask claims to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, pigmentation, uneven skin tones, FDA cleared, inflammation and redness. With it being so pricey its marketed more towards the elite than the masses like the mask- which didn't even require up-front payment. The ad suggests that women are more desirable when they up-keep their youth, and that money can help them maintain their appearance/ be happier in general. I believe that both facemasks appeal more to women, however interesting enough there is far more of a male appeal with LED’s as gender roles and expectations have changed in recent years, with men who have had cosmetic work done and clearly emphasize their physical appeal even making endorsements.
The change is drastic
The article, “ The Ads Affair: How the Ad Industry Has Changed and Is Changing,” by Tom Anziano suggests that with the exponential growth of digital advertising/ marketing there is a transactional exchange. “ Companies earn valuable data, and customers receive personalized content, such as quiz results, white papers or product recommendations.” Therefore companies can experiment with formatting, presentation, and repetition, expand across platforms, and further cater algorithms. Therefore, as seen with the multiple ads on the website, there is so much endorsement and brand ambassadors that people who are interested in improving their looks may receive this info from a man or woman, influencer, or doctor etc. Ultimately there are a lot of changes that have developed going from the “ frozen words and images” to the overwhelming repetition and variety of formatting. However, as the author states somethings have stayed the same, such as that consumers are still seeking authentic engagement and appreciate the references and reviews on brands. As AI emerges though, algorithms are getting so particular that advertising may change in unprecedented ways, raising privacy concerns and disrupting the authenticity.

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