✩Representation Analysis

Representation in media can be demonstrated by gender, economic status, sexuality, age, and race. Producers decide how to include representation in their productions based on stereotypes and whether or not they follow them. In the case of commercials, companies can choose to represent these different groups in a certain way in order to sell their product or get consumers engaged in what is being sold.

There is a commercial from the company AXE Body Spray that uses female representation to sell the product; however, the company does this in a negative way. In the advertisement, the audience sees a bunch of early/mid-20s skinny women in bikinis racing towards an early/mid 20s man spraying himself with AXE Body Spray. This gives the impression that if a man sprays himself with this perfume, then women who are perceived as “hot” and “sexy” will flock to him. It represents women as shallow by portraying them running and swimming to the man without knowing anything about him except for how he smells. This kind of representation can make men think that women are no more attractive and brainless.

Another example of negative female representation in media is a commercial advertising Tide. This commercial includes an upper-middle-class mother watching her daughter play with blocks. The mother is dressed in blue, white, and pink in a refined cardigan and dress. Placing her in this outfit gives the audience the impression that she is refined. Meanwhile, her daughter is dressed in a green camouflage sweater and shorts. Her mother speaks about her outfit with disdain and the stark differences in how both females are costumed work together to show how the daughter’s style is not normal. Representation like this makes the audience believe that young girls should wear dresses because that is socially acceptable rather than weird.

Commercials need to be cautious about the ideas they unintentionally give their audience through representation because viewers might feed into harmful stereotypes if they see them portrayed in media.