In the mid 1990s Cover Girl released an advertisement for their “Clean Make-Up” line that displayed five different women all smiling, looking extremely happy. The catch to this ad, that most makeup ads do not include, was that each woman displayed was a different ethnicity. In the same order as they were displayed there was an Asian woman, a blonde women, a dark skinned African American woman, a girl with red hair, and another African women but who had a much lighter skin tone. Not only was cover girl using individuals with all different races to appeal to all audiences they also used this to help sell their product and show that they make a make-up that you can use no matter your skin color. 

Not only today in the advertising business is equality and inclusion an issue it also was back when this ad was released so it was a bold but successful statement for Cover Girl.   This does show a move in the right direction for advertisements though. Hopefully this encouraged other companies to also try and be more inclusive and not just show your pretty, cool, typical women of the time in their advertisements, but show women of all types. By including a wide variety of races, girls who once felt excluded and different now were displayed as a normal woman who can go out and shop for makeup like everyone else does. I would assume that one of the reasons cover girl decided to take this approach is because when you think of make up companies and the products that you use cover girl is one of the first companies that comes to mind but before not everyone had the ability to find make up that could work for their skin color. Buy showing that all these women use cover girls make up and my writing in the corner what shade they use it gives others a hope they will find their same tone too. 

Another thing Cover girl uses to try and sell their foundation that is displayed in this ad is celebrity endorsements. The light skinned African American woman that is shown is Tyra Banks who at this time was a huge celebrity. The blonde woman shown was Niki Taylor, who is also a celebrity in the public eye and is known for her modeling career. So if these famous women use cover girl doesn’t that make you want to use it too? This is what the company is trying to get their audience to think like.

By showing every girl who is displayed as have very nice shiny skin its trying to prove to the viewers that if you wear this make up your skin will look just as flawless and beautiful as the models shown in the picture. The company did not decide to include someone who has bad skin, I feel that if they did add this they could show the makeups ability to cover blemishes but I guess that’s for another ad.

This advertisement is aimed at women and although women of all age can use cover girl make up I would say it is still aimed at women of a younger age in their late teens and twenties. Modern Cover Girl ads also include men and transgender people to the historically only-women customer base. This ad that includes women of all races is just the beginning to their campaign to include all individuals that exists today. 

Race is the main selling point in this marketing ploy. Many makeup companies struggle with showing diversity of their products by having one person or two people in their ads. By employing multiple women of different races and presumably different ethnicities, it creates a sense of acceptance and equality. Also by showing that there are multiple races, the advertisement displays their variety of products, thus increasing their sales. 

This advertisement also stands out because of the lack of heavy eye makeup and the way their natural skin tone is shown.  By doing this, the advertisement is delivering a message of how comfortable these women are in their own skin. In contrast, they could have portrayed the women in dark eye shadow and bold lipstick, which would have downplayed the light and happy mood of the setting. In many other advertisements for makeup you see the models with heavy makeup looking as if they are going to a runway show or some big event. By having the models wear such light makeup is shows to the audience that this is makeup meant for everyday life, and you can wear it no matter what your doing. 

The scene is staged to look light and natural from the background, lighting, facial expressions, and the makeup itself. All of these things combine to the overall theme of happiness and comfort the company wants the viewer to associate with their products. Positivity, warm feelings, and a natural comfort portrayed in the ad make the consumer more likely to experience good feelings toward the product and hope for these same emotions too.
