http://www.tellyads.com/show_movie.php?filename=TA16783
In this Dove 'Deeply Nourising' advertisement, it goes against controversial representation and stereotypes of women. This is because women are usually seen as either sexualised objects to be lusted over, domestic housewives or weak, co-dependent individuals who need a male figure to be happy.
In this advertisement, the women are seen in dressing gowns embracing their natural beauty. They haven't had any fancy makeup applied to them, nor have they had their hair done especially for the advert. This is showing that they're not being sexualised and instead are being empowered, because they're showing that women don't need to be sexualised and 'done up' to be considered beautiful or attractive. The women in the advert appear comfortable in their own bodies and therefore aren't allowing themselves to be objectified under The Male Gaze which may empower other women and enable them to be comfortable in their own skins, too. This would appeal to a female audience aged 18+ as this is when females would generally become interested in cosmetics and when they'd develop a desire to take care of their bodies more. It'd also appeal to an older audience as the women presented in the advertisement are of an older age and therefore too young an audience would find it harder to personally identify with them.
The preferred reading of Dove 'Deeply Nourishing' is older women aged 21+ because it features women of this age and with the advertisement using regular, everyday women, it provides this particular audience with the need for personal identification. This would ultimately make this target audience feel more confident about themselves as they'd see regular women on television being happy and comfortable with themselves and it'd inspire them to feel good about themselves also.
The oppositional reading is males. Beauty products are primarily seen as an interest for women rather than men, therefore men wouldn't be able to relate to the Dove advertisement; especially as it centres around females throughout.
The negotiated reading is young women 16 and over.
The aim of the advertisement is to show women that with body image being such a big issue in the media and with pressure to conform and adhere to society's body image ideal, that they should be comfortable in their own skin. Dove have done many beauty campaigns to research the influence of media on a woman's perception of beauty and themselves. They found in one of their most recent campaigns that 90% of all women worldwide (15-64) want to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance, with body weight ranking the highest. With Dove using everyday women who juxtapose the ideal of slim being perfect, it's showing women that they're beautiful regardless of their body image and it's promoting taking good care of themselves to feel good for themselves and not as a way to appear attractive for anyone else.
NTS: Remember to get statistics for how well Dove products have sold since using everyday women in their advertisements.
http://psucomm473.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/dove-campaign-for-real-beauty-case.html
