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 woman, a dark skinned African American woman, a woman with red hair, and another African woman but who had a much lighter skin tone. Not only was Cover Girl using individuals with all different races that included some celebrities and a light natural make up look to appeal to all audiences, they also used this to help sell their product and show that you can use their product no madder what your skin color is.

Not only today in the advertising business is equality and inclusion an issue, it also was back when this ad was released.  Cover Girl took a bold risk when they released a cover that showed all different types of women, but in the end it was a successful decision on their part. By Cover Girl taking this step it showed a huge move in the right direction for advertisements, which now today are extremely diverse. 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 Girl’s make up and by describing in the corner of the ad what shade each girl uses, it gives others a hope that they will find their same skin tone too. 

Another thing Cover girl uses to try and sell their foundation 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. If the stars use this make up and always look so flawless then any average girl who starts to wear cover girl will hope that they also look just as perfect in their Cover Girl foundation. 

By showing every girl who is displayed as having very nice, shiny skin, with no blemishes, 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 or spots that they are trying to cover, 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. This is shown by the ages of the women in the ad who all look to be in their twenties, and the demographic of women who are most known to be into their self presentation and how their make up looks. This ad that includes women of all races is just the beginning to their campaign to include all individuals that exists today. Modern Cover Girl ads also include men and transgender people to the historically only-women customer base something that no other beauty product company has yet to do. 

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 of women who use this company, the advertisement displays their variety of products that almost anyone can use, 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.

When Cover Girl released this advertisement that showed five young women of all different races and skin tones their goal was to prove to their costumers that anyone can wear their make up, no matter what color your skin is. This ad ended up proving to their audience so much more. It showed that if stars are happy in their own natural looking skin then you should be too. It also proved to the young women who this ad was targeting that you do not need heavy eye make up or really heavy make up at all to have nice looking skin or to be attractive. If you wear Cover Girl foundation and have a smile on your face you will look gorgeous no matter what your doing just like the girls in the advertisement. 
