SPOTLIGHT
SELLING THE LOOK According to CWU Assistant Professor of Public Relations Emily DuPlessis, Like any industry, money is a signifthis selling point is not at all surprising. “I think advertisers are always going icant factor in what we are sold and to use the … buzz terms or whatever’s hot politically to push their products how it is sold to us. “There’s always out,” she says, explaining that this tactic is called newsjacking. “They can take going to be money in making people whatever hot topic is going on at the time and spin it into a way to get people feel beautiful,” says James, quoting his to pay attention.” aunt who also works in the makeup DuPlessis argues that using activism to sell a product isn’t necessarily bad. industry. In the last decade, beauty brands “When you look at it in terms of their voice to the masses, if they are pushing out a positive message,” she says, “that’s not a bad thing. That is still using their have begun using a new tactic to budget, which they would maybe otherwise spend on just an ad of a woman sell their products—activism. Take with beautiful hair; they’re using that platform to push out a message that maybe Pantene, for example. In 2014, the brand released its “Sorry, Not Sorry” would get a couple others to think twice about an issue.” James asserts that brands could go a step further, though. “If [brands] actually campaign in which it urged women want to make a difference instead of just selling makeup, [they should] donate to stop spending so much of their the proceeds to these causes,” he says. lives apologizing for trivial things. Just because a company isn’t donating publicly doesn’t mean they’re not There has been controversy surrounding these types of ads, though. donating at all, though. “Some of these big huge cosmetic companies … will In a 2015 article for Business Insider, funnel money into specific campaigns or political agendas in other ways; they just don’t do it on such a blatant statement as an advertisement, says DuPlessis. writer Nosheen Iqbal wrote about Pantene’s ad, “No more apologies “So, either way you look at it, companies are either spending money behind the scenes or … they’re spending money using their own advertising budget.” for existing, ladies (or for having limp, Colvin takes issue with the tactic “not because this type of self-expression dank locks). If the commercialization is negative for people,” she says, “but because I believe consumerism is bad for [sic] of the movement has taught us everyone and this type of advertisement is encouraging the next generation of anything, it’s that you can challenge gender norms, battle inequality … feminists to be active consumers.” and buy more shampoo.” NO MATTER WHERE YOU STAND ON MAKEUP, MAKE SURE YOU’RE DOING IT FOR YOU. AS MENDEZ SAYS, “EVERYBODY DESERVES TO WEAR WHAT THEY WANT.”
Makeup by Nic Howe
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FALL 2018 | ISSUE TWO
