Youth and Beauty
America is a prosperous country. In fact, sociologists have discovered a uniquely American disease that they call “affluenza.” This term refers to the stress and related disorders that develop from Americans’ need to constantly spend money on material possessions and supposed self-improvement. It is not enough to just be comfortable, we must have it all and look perfect. We work ourselves ragged and neglect our families and relationships just so we can buy the latest television, even though the three we already have work just fine. People in third world countries struggle to keep their children fed. If work is available, they earn money to buy basic necessities; they do not have the luxury of saving up for a new car. As Americans, we are so caught up in the materialistic that advertising is a billion-dollar industry in this country. What we buy also relates to our other obsessions: youth and beauty. We worship celebrities, but only until they turn fifty. Movies featuring older actors (women in particular) are rare; and even our numerous “reality” television shows all feature beautiful people in their mid-twenties to early-thirties. However, this is not reality: Americans are made up of people of all ages and shapes. Since we can afford it, we buy whatever nature does not provide, from makeup to plastic surgery. Our advertising reflects consumer demand, which in turn reflects American priorities.
While people in poorer countries can not pay for surgery that they need to survive, Americans spend millions on surgery to make them look better. For example, the number of breast augmentation surgeries increased five hundred and ninety-three percent from 1992 to 2002 according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons website. However, not all Americans can afford the costly procedures, and some do not want to take the risk of elective surgery; yet we all want to fit the national ideal of beauty. Instead, many women turn to makeup to enhance their features. Cosmetics companies are always coming up with the hot new colors or the latest technology to preserve youthful looks. Magazines geared toward women are filled with cosmetics advertisements. One such magazine is In Style. This publication targets middle to upper-class women in their mid-twenties to late-forties. Its main components are fashion, makeup, jewelry, interior design, and celebrities. Many of the ads are for designer clothes, such as Versace and Prada. In the February 2004 issue, I found several makeup ads which illustrate my point about the youth and beauty obsession in the United States, two of which are for L’Oreal products.
The first is a two-page ad for a lipstick line called “Endless Platinum.” It claims to be “new,” which is one of the weasel words mentioned in an article by William Lutz titled “With These Words, I Can Sell You Anything.” The ad does not specify what makes the lipstick new, besides the name and packaging. As far as the consumer knows, it may be the same lipstick she has in her purse right now, but in a shiny silver tube. One page of the spread is dominated by a picture of a model’s face, featuring one of the “ten new shades with a platinum shimmering shine effect.” The other page displays an open tube of the lipstick, flanked by ten lipstick tips illustrating the available colors. Large words above the lipsticks declare them to have “8 Hour Wear” and “Platinum Shine.” The name of the product appears to the right of the picture with the words “comfortable 8-hour lipcolour” in small letters underneath. Below the colors are more details about the makeup, and below this is L’Oreal’s trademark slogan, “Because you’re worth it.” This phrase plays to the individualistic aspect of American society. An expression like that would not be as effective in a collectivistic culture like Japan, in which importance is placed on the well-being of society as a whole.
The ad also uses Americans’ obsession with technology to sell the product. It claims that the lipstick contains “platinum shine technology” in a “new L’Oreal patent.” It says that the color can last all day without drying out the lips “thanks to the soft-seal technology” also patented by L’Oreal. The actual science behind this technology is not explained, however.
The other ad places even greater emphasis on science and technology, and targets American women’s fixation on looking young. This is also a two-page layout, with one page featuring a supermodel’s face. Lines are drawn on her forehead and at the corner of her eye, presumably to demonstrate the areas targeted by the product, which is an anti-wrinkle cream. The other page contains a picture of the product in the lower right corner, but this ad contains many more words than the first, as it is highlighting the science rather than the appearance of the product, which is called “Wrinkle De-Crease.” In a gold rectangle in the upper left, the company claims its “dermo-expertise.” Below this it exclaims “Surgery can wait!” To sound more like medicine and less like makeup, the product is referred to as an anti-wrinkle treatment rather than a cream. It is said to decrease and soften lines and wrinkles. These strike me as weasel words because they are not specific about the actual outcome. “Decrease” literally means to lessen or cause something to lessen in size, strength, or amount; and the definition of “soften” is to reduce something. Neither of these definitions provides an explicit idea about the effect of the treatment: how much are wrinkles reduced or lessened, and in comparison to what? The ad uses other weasel words such as “new” and “innovation,” which basically means the same thing as “new.”
One innovation that the ad highlights is the use of “Boswelox,” a trademark of L’Oreal, described as “a phyto-complex with new Boswellia extract and Manganese [that] fights the results of micro-contractions of the skin.” This sounds impressive, but what does it really mean? The average consumer is not familiar with these terms, but she can recognize the scientific undertones: and if it is scientific, it must be effective. The ad gives the impression of a doctor prescribing a medical solution to the problem of aging.
Americans want to look young and beautiful for as long as possible with a minimum of effort. These ads play to that mindset. They say that you can have your looks without spending large amounts of time or money on plastic surgery; and since we as a society have a large expendable income, we are particularly susceptible to this type of advertising ploy. We want to be able to buy as many things as we want, so we are attracted to products that can save us money while giving us what we think we need. Cosmetics also offer more rapid results than surgery, which is important in our fast-food culture. It is a promise of youth and beauty in a bottle: what every American wants.
Works Cited
American Society of Plastic Surgeons. 2004. 20 February 2004. <http://www.plasticsurgery.org/public_education/2002statistics.cfm>.
Lutz, William. “With These Words, I Can Sell You Anything.” Exploring Language. Ed.Gary Goshgarian. Pearson Longman, New York: 2004, 393-406.
America is a prosperous country. In fact, sociologists have discovered a uniquely American disease that they call “affluenza.” This term refers to the stress and related disorders that develop from Americans’ need to constantly spend money on material possessions and supposed self-improvement. It is not enough to just be comfortable, we must have it all and look perfect. We work ourselves ragged and neglect our families and relationships just so we can buy the latest television, even though the three we already have work just fine. People in third world countries struggle to keep their children fed. If work is available, they earn money to buy basic necessities; they do not have the luxury of saving up for a new car. As Americans, we are so caught up in the materialistic that advertising is a billion-dollar industry in this country. What we buy also relates to our other obsessions: youth and beauty. We worship celebrities, but only until they turn fifty. Movies featuring older actors (women in particular) are rare; and even our numerous “reality” television shows all feature beautiful people in their mid-twenties to early-thirties. However, this is not reality: Americans are made up of people of all ages and shapes. Since we can afford it, we buy whatever nature does not provide, from makeup to plastic surgery. Our advertising reflects consumer demand, which in turn reflects American priorities.
While people in poorer countries can not pay for surgery that they need to survive, Americans spend millions on surgery to make them look better. For example, the number of breast augmentation surgeries increased five hundred and ninety-three percent from 1992 to 2002 according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons website. However, not all Americans can afford the costly procedures, and some do not want to take the risk of elective surgery; yet we all want to fit the national ideal of beauty. Instead, many women turn to makeup to enhance their features. Cosmetics companies are always coming up with the hot new colors or the latest technology to preserve youthful looks. Magazines geared toward women are filled with cosmetics advertisements. One such magazine is In Style. This publication targets middle to upper-class women in their mid-twenties to late-forties. Its main components are fashion, makeup, jewelry, interior design, and celebrities. Many of the ads are for designer clothes, such as Versace and Prada. In the February 2004 issue, I found several makeup ads which illustrate my point about the youth and beauty obsession in the United States, two of which are for L’Oreal products.
The first is a two-page ad for a lipstick line called “Endless Platinum.” It claims to be “new,” which is one of the weasel words mentioned in an article by William Lutz titled “With These Words, I Can Sell You Anything.” The ad does not specify what makes the lipstick new, besides the name and packaging. As far as the consumer knows, it may be the same lipstick she has in her purse right now, but in a shiny silver tube. One page of the spread is dominated by a picture of a model’s face, featuring one of the “ten new shades with a platinum shimmering shine effect.” The other page displays an open tube of the lipstick, flanked by ten lipstick tips illustrating the available colors. Large words above the lipsticks declare them to have “8 Hour Wear” and “Platinum Shine.” The name of the product appears to the right of the picture with the words “comfortable 8-hour lipcolour” in small letters underneath. Below the colors are more details about the makeup, and below this is L’Oreal’s trademark slogan, “Because you’re worth it.” This phrase plays to the individualistic aspect of American society. An expression like that would not be as effective in a collectivistic culture like Japan, in which importance is placed on the well-being of society as a whole.
The ad also uses Americans’ obsession with technology to sell the product. It claims that the lipstick contains “platinum shine technology” in a “new L’Oreal patent.” It says that the color can last all day without drying out the lips “thanks to the soft-seal technology” also patented by L’Oreal. The actual science behind this technology is not explained, however.
The other ad places even greater emphasis on science and technology, and targets American women’s fixation on looking young. This is also a two-page layout, with one page featuring a supermodel’s face. Lines are drawn on her forehead and at the corner of her eye, presumably to demonstrate the areas targeted by the product, which is an anti-wrinkle cream. The other page contains a picture of the product in the lower right corner, but this ad contains many more words than the first, as it is highlighting the science rather than the appearance of the product, which is called “Wrinkle De-Crease.” In a gold rectangle in the upper left, the company claims its “dermo-expertise.” Below this it exclaims “Surgery can wait!” To sound more like medicine and less like makeup, the product is referred to as an anti-wrinkle treatment rather than a cream. It is said to decrease and soften lines and wrinkles. These strike me as weasel words because they are not specific about the actual outcome. “Decrease” literally means to lessen or cause something to lessen in size, strength, or amount; and the definition of “soften” is to reduce something. Neither of these definitions provides an explicit idea about the effect of the treatment: how much are wrinkles reduced or lessened, and in comparison to what? The ad uses other weasel words such as “new” and “innovation,” which basically means the same thing as “new.”
One innovation that the ad highlights is the use of “Boswelox,” a trademark of L’Oreal, described as “a phyto-complex with new Boswellia extract and Manganese [that] fights the results of micro-contractions of the skin.” This sounds impressive, but what does it really mean? The average consumer is not familiar with these terms, but she can recognize the scientific undertones: and if it is scientific, it must be effective. The ad gives the impression of a doctor prescribing a medical solution to the problem of aging.
Americans want to look young and beautiful for as long as possible with a minimum of effort. These ads play to that mindset. They say that you can have your looks without spending large amounts of time or money on plastic surgery; and since we as a society have a large expendable income, we are particularly susceptible to this type of advertising ploy. We want to be able to buy as many things as we want, so we are attracted to products that can save us money while giving us what we think we need. Cosmetics also offer more rapid results than surgery, which is important in our fast-food culture. It is a promise of youth and beauty in a bottle: what every American wants.
Works Cited
American Society of Plastic Surgeons. 2004. 20 February 2004. <http://www.plasticsurgery.org/public_education/2002statistics.cfm>.
Lutz, William. “With These Words, I Can Sell You Anything.” Exploring Language. Ed.Gary Goshgarian. Pearson Longman, New York: 2004, 393-406.
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