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Read through “Beauty and the Beast of Advertising” and focus on the section Creating Artificiality. This focuses on women in advertising, but what other forms of artificiality do you see in the media? Which type of media (print, TV, etc.) is the most effective in portraying this artificiality as normalcy? Use a specific advertising campaign to support your answer.

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In the contemporary media landscape, artificiality manifests in various forms beyond depictions of women, permeating multiple channels such as print, television, digital platforms, and social media. These representations shape societal perceptions of beauty, success, and normalcy, often distorting reality to align with commercial interests. Among these, the portrayal of idealized lifestyles, product endorsements, and artificially enhanced images are prevalent, contributing to an exaggerated sense of perfection that audiences come to accept as normative.

One prominent form of artificiality in media is the portrayal of idealized body images across different platforms. These images are heavily curated using photo editing, lighting, and makeup techniques to construct an unattainable standard of beauty. While this phenomenon is especially associated with magazines and social media, it is also vividly depicted in television advertisements. For instance, fashion campaigns frequently showcase models with perfect bodies and flawless skin, reinforcing an illusion of beauty that is often digitally manipulated. The constant presence of such images blurs the line between reality and fabrication, making artificial beauty seem like the norm.

Another significant form of artificiality is seen in lifestyle marketing, where advertisements depict luxurious, stress-free, and aspirational lives that rarely reflect everyday reality. Commercials for high-end cars, luxury resorts, or designer clothing rarely show the struggles or imperfections inherent in real life. Instead, they strategically present a curated snapshot that elevates a product as the key to achieving an ideal lifestyle. This form of artificiality is particularly potent on television, where the narrative format allows for storytelling that emphasizes perfection and exclusivity, subtly convincing audiences that such lifestyles are accessible and standard.

Digital media and social networks have amplified artificiality through filters and editing apps that allow ordinary users to present highly curated versions of themselves. This phenomenon creates a pseudo-ideal of beauty and success that many accept as authentic, thus normalizing artificiality in followers' perceptions. As media consumers scroll through feeds filled with highly edited images, the boundary between reality and constructed illusion diminishes, fostering a culture of comparison and dissatisfaction.

Among these, television advertising stands out as particularly effective in portraying artificiality as normalcy. The visual storytelling power of TV allows for seamless integration of idealized images and narratives into everyday life. An example of this is the cosmetics brand Maybelline’s advertising campaigns, which consistently portray women with perfect skin, slim figures, and confident attitudes. These campaigns often feature models or celebrities who have undergone extensive photo editing and product endorsement strategies that suggest using the product will help emulating this idealized image. The widespread reach of TV, combined with its compelling visual and emotional appeal, ensures that viewers internalize these images as desirable and attainable, reinforcing artificial standards as normal.

A specific campaign that exemplifies this is the Maybelline "Maybe She’s Born With It, Maybe It’s Maybelline" campaign, which emphasizes effortless beauty augmented through cosmetics. Through repeated presentation across multiple channels, including TV, the campaign normalizes the artificial enhancement of beauty, subtly persuading viewers that natural beauty is incomplete without cosmetic intervention. This underscores how TV, with its high production value and broad reach, effectively perpetuates artificiality as a normative aspect of beauty standards.

Furthermore, the pervasive use of digital editing in television commercials is challenging the authenticity of images shown. The conjunction of TV’s visual storytelling with digitally enhanced images fosters a sense of familiarity and acceptance among viewers, who come to see these idealized images as the standard. As a result, artificiality in media—particularly television advertising—becomes deeply ingrained in societal perceptions of what is normal, desirable, and achievable.

In conclusion, media perpetuates artificiality through various channels, with television advertising being notably effective due to its visual and narrative capabilities. Campaigns like Maybelline’s exemplify how advertisers normalize artificial standards of beauty and lifestyle, shaping societal expectations and behaviors. Recognizing these influences is essential in fostering media literacy and promoting healthier, more realistic perceptions of ourselves and others in society.

References

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