Recently, I was scrolling and an ad popped up on my screen. It showed the forehead of a relatively young person. Their skin was smooth but definitely didn’t have any filters on, so the picture looked realistic. Honestly, it looked pretty similar to my forehead. The text on the screen said, “tired of fine lines?” After that, it scrolled through a few more photos of imperfect but realistic features, none of which would have had any noticeable flaws if not for the harsh lighting and close-up pictures. I couldn’t help but think that my face would also look like that if it was photographed in the same way. The ad then shifted, showing women applying retinol cream to cure their fine lines. The last shot was a smiling woman with almost unnaturally smooth skin. I’ve heard of fine lines before, but it didn’t hit me until it was pushed so aggressively in this ad how ridiculous the whole idea is. Yes, we’re supposed to be afraid of getting old and getting wrinkles; that’s not new, but the idea that one tiny crease on your forehead or a slight fold around your eye when you smile is a problem, is crazy. The companies profiting off of this really want us to think that having anything other than perfectly smooth, spotless skin is something that has to be solved.
Another ad I’ve been seeing a lot is from a deodorant company that’s trying to sell a whole-body deodorant. They’re claiming that it’s not enough to prevent just your underarms from sweating when your whole body can sweat and have body odor. I understand that some individuals, like people with hyperhidrosis, likely can benefit from this product, but my theory is that companies are hoping to make other people who don’t need full body deodorant self-conscious about their body sweat to sell more products. I don’t think that the majority of people need to use this and constantly cover their skin with more chemicals because a commercial over-exaggerated a problem doesn’t seem great.
This isn’t the first time that companies have tried to create problems to sell a solution for. The company Listerine is a classic example of this. Listerine mouthwash used to be used to treat and disinfect wounds both in and out of the mouth. The product was effective but the company wanted to sell more, so they began to push the idea of a new, made-up condition called halitosis. They told people in advertisements that individuals with halitosis don’t know they have it, and they might be losing friends over it! The term halitosis is still used to this day to spark fear over bad breath despite it just being a (very effective) marketing ploy. So, I wouldn’t believe ads when they tell you they have a magic solution to a problem because half of the time, the problem doesn’t even exist. On top of all of that, these ads are most often targeted at women, hoping that we’ll be insecure enough to buy these hygiene products. Screw that.
