An Abeyance Already?

And, only after 2 measly posts? Well, not quite. Although school started a little over than a week ago, this student is still studying. Why ’still’? Well, I have to joy of writing yet another standardized test: the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). All universities in the USA require the test for entrance into any graduate program. However, I’m not applying to any graduate schools in the States – it so happens that McGill is one of the few in Canada that require it! Just my luck. Anyway, that’s a week away, and also where the word “abeyance” comes from. I had never heard of the word before I cracked open the GRE book (there’s a verbal section that uses a lot of large words that no one uses). So, abeyance, as I learned, means a temporary lapse in activity, or suspension. I will try not to have too many abeyances with this blog!

This week, in a health care program evaluation class, we were taking a look at a marketing approach to public health. The prof showed us 3 commercials to demonstrate how some commercials were geared towards certain audiences, and how certain public health programs should target certain groups in a population in order to be effective. One of the commercials she showed can be found here.

As it so happens, Kenny had sent me the commercial a few months back, so I had already seen it. I had heard of some of the Dove beauty campaigns they had started, and I have always thought there were good ideas. This commercial in particular obviously defies the traditional marketing norm by demonstrating the artificial nature of many ads on TV/magazines, etc. The ad wasn’t even advertising any product in particular, but the Dove Self Esteem fund. In terms of beauty/aesthetic-related product advertisements, how often does one come across a real and natural depiction of beauty? Not often!

After the video was shown in class, someone made a comment that the motives of the ad were no different than any other beauty product commercial – it was great that Dove has this fund, but the underlying intention was not of caring for the self-esteem of young girls, but selling products. I’ll admit, that thought did cross my mind – of course the company wants to sell their products, how else would they survive? BUT, do they have to make these commercials? Did they have to start an awareness campaign? No. Do I see any other beauty product companies launching similar campaigns? Last time I checked, Herbal Essence commercials were still trying to convince me that if I used their products my shower would be, uh, “exceptionally pleasurable” while giving me shiny hair, and Crest was trying to tell me that my teeth need to be whiter than my baby teeth were. From what I have seen, this company uses real women in their ads, and not celebrities, or models. It’s as though they’ve come down from the high and mighty Hollywood empire to mingle among the normal plebeians. I must admit, I don’t know a whole lot about Dove’s campaigns, but I like what I see.