Analysis Essay On Clorox Bleach Ads

Krystal Beard
Nate Gordon
English 103-5001
14 February 2013 Analysis Essay Advertisements, they are all around us from the magazines and newspapers we read to televisions programs we watch. What exactly are they? They are ways for companies to catch the attention of consumers to entice us to purchase or use their products. My advertisement is an internet ad for Clorox Bleach. As I was researching different ads for this particular product something caught my eye. It seemed that every ad for Clorox bleach had a woman, and a reference to domestic duties of cleaning in some form. I will give my analogy of the two ads I found interesting. Both are from different eras, but seemed to be alike in how the product was geared more towards women as the primary caretakers of a home’s hygienic upkeep. Both to me seemed a bit discriminatory, as rarely no men or boys for that matter are in such ads. Let me begin my analysis with ad number one. Rosie the Riveter, an iconic symbol in the 1940’s that women were strong and fierce. Clorox decided to put this iconic woman on an ad that read “GET THE POWER the power to clean anything”. Now, I don’t know about you but cleaning the toilet does not fall under my category of strong as a woman. This ad I feel was very well mapped out it met all advertisement criteria image starts at the left and the words flow to the right. But it lacked something.
Why a woman on the ad? When I think of strong the first to appear in my mind is a man or both genders for that matter. The colors used in the ad were not overpowering and didn’t make the ad feel busy at all. By looking at the ad at first glance, you wouldn’t think it was an ad for a cleaning product; I believe the use of the symbol Rosie the Riveter takes away from the product and does not showcase it as the main attraction. Over all my analogy of this ad would be, to maybe showcase a room that is dirty and then the product. By using Rosie the Riveter and the product it seems a little womanizing, like women are the only ones who know how or should be cleaning. That should not be the case but considering the time period the ad was displayed it was idea for that audience. Now that I have given my analogy on the first ad you see I have given some strength’s, some weaknesses, and my opinion on how it could have been better. Advertising to me is really hit or miss either you have nailed it or failed it. Being a consumer of many products advertising is the first impression and like the saying goes “first impression is a lasting one”. With that being said let me move on to analyzing the second and final ad I have chosen. In 1997 Clorox came up with an ad again using a woman and the slogan read “For a healthier house and a happier home”. First, this ad wasn’t busy it showcased the product a little off centered, but you know what it’s for. Now even though the times have changed Clorox still insists on using a woman as the main symbol in advertising their products. You see here the woman used in this particular add is standing in a laundry room with gloves on and a giant jug of Clorox ready to go to clean. Now, the phrase “For a healthier house and happier home” this could be taken a few different ways. First, are they saying people who don’t keep an immaculate home aren’t happy? Or are they saying that if your home isn’t spotless it’s not a healthy home? I don’t think the cleanliness of your home has anything to do with the happiness. As you can see Clorox seems to be assuming those women are responsible for keeping the household clean and happy. It shows her as happy and almost elated to tackle the jobs of the day. But this picture of the room she is in looks immaculate already, so I would have probably had a stain or a mess present to showcase how the product is to be used. Another thing I may have changed was to have the model actually cleaning something or a before and after photo. Other than those minor alterations, I feel this ad was good. So now I have taken two separate ads from different time periods and given you my analogy of them.
Am I saying that Clorox is wrong for mainly using a woman as the model for their ads? Absolutely not! For the most part even though times have changed the woman is the primary caregiver of the home. They are doing great advertising my marketing to an audience they know is going to buy their products. How you may ask? By making the woman in the house feel that not only is she keeping her family happy and healthy, but empowering herself by saying “I do have the power to clean
anything”. In conclusion I would say both ads did their job. They are getting the attention by using bright bold colors in their ads. One ad read from left to right in typical advertising fashion and the other was more centered and top to bottom. They are usually not too busy, in the sense that when you look at the ad you know exactly what’s being sold. Clorox is also advertising to the consumers they know more than often clean the home and purchase the household items. When targeting a specific market it almost guarantees the product your selling is going to be purchased. It is very important not to make your advertisement’s offensive or inappropriate, that could deter the consumer away from you product. Clorox must be doing something right they have been around for over one hundred years and they are still going strong with thousands of ads and millions of products sold, I would say that’s an ad campaign you can take straight to the bank.
Reference Page 1. Clorox.Advertisement.Wordpress.com. 2011 2. Clorox.Advertisement.Behance.net.1997