The Business of Postive Images

In my first year at the university I wrote an essay on corporate social responsibility, after that essay I came to the conclusion that businesses care little for society and if they act as if they do, they are only doing it to assert goodwill that will benefit them later. A noble winning economist, Milton Friedman, presented the idea that the social responsibility of a firm is nothing more than to generate profit and of those companies acting for the benefit of society, most are only doing so for the purpose of potential profits. In advertisements, we see many positive images of stereotypes; these are challenging earlier stereotypes and aim to celebrate diversity in the world. But why are they doing this? Is it trying to prove that we are all same or are they doing this to increase their bottom line?

Recently I noticed the Dove Ads, the campaign for real beauty aims to challenge beauty stereotypes. Dove’s mission statement says that they want to help free the next generation from beauty stereotypes. The image below presents women of different ethnicities, age and sizes. The woman are happy and celebrating their beauty. Is Dove participating from the goodness of their heart or are they doing this to sell a product? Marketing is all about satisfying the needs of its potential customers. Potential customers are diverse, as a result Dove will obviously develop marketing strategies that will aim to target this market and satisfy their needs.

Positive images are not so positive if you decode it from the ‘white eye’। The Tommy Hilfiger perfume advertisements for their ‘Real American Fragrance” show a group of happy college students of different ethnicities framed in front the American flag can be used as an example to question Stuart Halls question if positive images are political statements for everyone to accept and live with difference. As this perfume is titled the real American fragrance, it tries to prove that America can be represented by both African Americans and Euro-Americans, but my eyes cannot help but focus on the centre of the frame, which so happens to be a blond , white man. The red that he is wearing is the same tone as the red on the American flag, this correlation between him and the flag suggest that he is the “real American”. And the models around him are just framing him and act as decorative props almost. The point I am trying to make with the advertisement above is that they are appropriating difference to sell the product.