Gender Ads

The advertisement that caught my eye was the Puffs Campfire commercial. The product that is being advertised is Puffs Plus Lotion.  In the commercial, the setting is around a campfire and young girls are roasting marsh mellows, with a mom present of course.  At first I thought that the setting was a good idea (camp fire, woods) usually causes allergies, so of course you would need a tissue.  That’s the moment I realized that there were no boys present in the ad.  I assumed having girl talk around a camp fire is too “feminine” for males to be present and there’s nothing for them to do.  I can tell that this ad is intended for the female audience just by what was said and how it’s portrayed. It states the ingredients (shea butter, aloe, and vitamin E), which no male would pay attention to.

Ironically, after the first puffs commercial another one followed, Puffs Snow fort. The product that is being advertised is Puffs Plus Lotion of course.  In this commercial, the setting is in a backyard or some type of free area that a snow fort can be built.  The ad opens with young boys having a snowball fight, with no girls present, except for the mom who comes out of no where with a box of tissues.  Like I mentioned with the previous commercial, the setting was understandable, (snow, cold) causes runny noses, but they were all “big boys” and they’re still calling on mommy for a tissue.  The commercial made it seem that all girls hate snow and would rather be sitting in front of the fireplace with a glass of hot chocolate and are unable to hang with the boys.  This commercial doesn’t mention the ingredients at all.