Thursday, October 23, 2008
Advertisments...Where Dreams Can Grow
If you were watching Heroes this past Monday you may have encountered the Hasbro Rose Cottage Commercial. If not you'll be surprised at the contents of it. In this version of the commercial they are appealing to mothers and they tell them that with this cottage their daughters will "...have a place where their dreams can grow." And "entertain her imagination."
Well apparently entertaining the imagination is doing laundry and little girl's dreams are to grow up and be housewives. I’m not even one of those people that think being a house wife is demining or anything. In fact I believe it’s a great sacrifice and an honorable job that I would do when the time comes, but it's not a decision advertisers should force upon young girls. These girls don't know that they have any other options when all they know how to do is decorate and do laundry. And the commercial that aired on T.V also had a small spot for the Hasbro Castle, a place where girls can wait for their prince charming. I didn't just make that up, the commercial said that...yeah.
What do you think? Am I taking this too far or is it insulting?
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4 comments:
I totally see where you are going with this. Yet, I do believe this is how advertisers are appealing to younger girls, with pink pastels and a friendly girl. Has anyone realized that there aren't ever any boys in these commercials? Is it because the little girls would not want their buy the product because boys "have cooties" and are "icky." Also, in Hot Wheels advertisements, there are not any girls to be seen. What if a girl came strolling in and wanted to play? Would young boys kick and scream if their parents bought this for them? Or, with either gender, what if we put little boys and girls in the same commercials, would the gender stereotyping go away? Or, at least diminish slightly?
I think advertisements like the Hasbro Rose Cottage or the Hasbro Castle is too stereotypical for how young girls should play. Companies like Hasbro are trying to appeal to the young girls with bright pink colors and pretty flowers, but not all girls are attracted to pink. When I was young, I played with all different toys whether they had pink on it or not. I was more interested in making creative crafts and playing outside than doing fake dishes and laundry. I found that since I didn’t have a Rose Cottage or Kitchen when I was young, I have taken on the responsibility of being an organized person. I don’t need to be told to clean my room or do other chores because I just do them on my own. I wonder if children who grow up with Rose Cottages actually become organized people or if they just go through a small phase of cleaning, organizing, and washing. I also think that young boys should be included in the Hasbro commercials. Today, many men are taking the role of stay at home dads, which means that men can clean, do laundry, and cook.
I agree with both of you. Maybe if both genders were put into the same commercial, steriotypes would stop, or be less dominant in advertisment and every day life. i also think it's interesting that mishi noticed that she became an organized person on her own, without having to play with toys that include chores. Thanks for the feed back!
That little girl was SO me when I was little. I guess from my older wiser perspective now I could say perhaps I was subliminaly pressured to play like this, but I think the truth was that I just wanted to be like my mom. (Oedipal complex perhaps?) My mom was a stay at home mom for a long time, not because she felt she had to be, but because she wanted to be. The fact is that there are many little girls out there who are going to be attracted to these toys, and it's just easier for advertisors to target them. Inadvertantly you will get the girls who don't like playing with dolls who will feel excluded and perhaps feel pressured to act like one of 'those girls".
I'm thinking as I write...Now i'm not sure what I think!
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