
Advertisements are a way in which people promote a product; however, an advertisement can be aimed at promoting a certain way of thinking as well. In doing so, and if done correctly, the advertisement can evoke a certain emotion among customers and viewers and not only get the product sold but change a popular opinion as well (or at least make people think about something in a different way). Always, a company that sells feminine products, created a visual advertisement in the form of a video which shows how drastically society changes the view of females after they hit puberty to feel not as strong as men. By using a certain audience, appeals, and imagery, a good advertisement is able to grab the attention of others and making them feel emotions rather than just seeing another advertisement because if the average person sees about 3,000 advertisements daily, the best advertisements are the ones that can stand out, and said Always ad definitely made our waters work…from our eyes!

The Always is a video where a group of older girls and guys were asked to imitate how a girl throws a ball, runs, fights, etc. Young girls were also interviewed and asked to imitate a girl doing that as well; however, what was analyzed was the younger set of girls thought being a girl meant being strong and independent, and the older group of girls and guys imitated girls as being weak and not having much self confidence. Therefore, it was concluded that societal standards for girls actually causes girls to go through puberty believing they are not as independent or strong as they once thought. The Always advertisement is aimed at making people see this and make a change so girls can feel like (and know!) they are equivalent to boys, no matter what age they are.

In the Always advertisement, the audience aimed at being targeted is girls certainly because the Always products are feminine products, but it also targets anyone who think girls do not have standards and pressures in society that are so hard to maintain. The video begins with the older set of girls and guys showing the way they believe girls run in a silly way which makes the audience agree that they believe that, too. However, once the younger girls come on the screen and start running fast and fighting hard and strong, it sends chills up the viewer’s spine making them realize the sad reality that once a girl goes through puberty, they believe they aren’t strong anymore. This advertisement also does a good job at making this point clear by incorporating not only girls into the video but boys as well to show it isn’t just girls who think this way!

The appeals of logos, ethos, and pathos are all used in this advertisement. Logos is used in this video by showing the different age groups including not only girls but boys as well. It shows that once a girl hits puberty, they no longer have confidence in being a strong, independent woman, and people all around begin to believe that mindset as well. Towards the middle to end of the commercial, the older set of girls and guys are asked questions about what they think of boys versus girls, and the majority said they believed girls just were not good enough or as good as boys are at most things. Even though that idea is not factual, many people actually believe it- girls included- and this affects how girls perform in their lives. Ethos is used in this advertisement because the Always brand is created for women. All of its products are feminine products, and all of their spokespeople or actresses in their commercials are primarily girls. Therefore, it is not surprising that they took to analyzing this major issue about girls. By using boys in this advertisement as well, it incorporates everyone and makes the problem well known. Pathos is used in this advertisement by just flat out depicting how depressing it is that girls only have confidence in themselves for quite a short amount of time in their lives. By having the audience see the younger girls be so excited to be strong and independent girls and then showing the complete opposite with the older set of girls and guys, it helps evoke feelings of sadness, guilt, and shame among anyone who watches the ad because it makes the audience realize they help in maintaining that mindset by continuing to accept society’s ideas that girls are only beautiful and worth living if they are skinny, wear makeup, and have a man by their side. Soceity has trained girls and boys that girls that fight or are strong are not as beautiful, and this is sad because obviously everyone is made differently.

Imagery and sound effects are used effectively in this advertisement by having a plain, dark background behind the girls and guys who are imitating how a girl behaves. The plain background is effective by giving full attention to the people in front of it acting, and the dark part of the background is effective because dark usually resembles sadness, depression, and scariness. Of course those feelings all ring true in this advertisement, and it gives full focus to the idea that girls do not feel independent or strong. Also, by not having music in the background at the beginning of the video gives more focus on the unsettling image of the older group versus the younger group and how they believe girls act, but when they start to think about that mindset, the music comes on in the background, and this makes the audience feel empowered to change this idea.

Advertisements are like people- they are all different, and each product requires a unique ad to target unique audiences, provoke controversial topics, and evoke certain feelings. However, the Always ad grabs attention of many while using a popular, worldwide problem that girls are not as strong as boys, and this in turn makes them believe that they actually are not as smart. By using an audience of mainly girls, all three of the appeals of Logos, Ethos, and Pathos, and by using imagery, the Always advertisement is able to grab the attention of everyone and make them feel emotional towards this idea that society treats girls in an unfair way and makes them think lesser of themselves, and by doing this, they make their brand better well known and sell their product because they are able to relate with the customers on a personal level.
