Across the world, beauty advertisements are the reason for some of the most top selling products. Although cultural differences may vary the brands, many of the products sold are quite similar in their purpose. In our studies, we see that skin-whitening cream is quite common, especially in China. The goal is to look and be more like the Caucasian Westerners, who seem to symbolize success in all areas of life. This advertisement presents skin whitening cream as one way Chinese people (and other buyers) can achieve this “white success.” By using English text, the zipper effect, and a removal of blemishes, the advertisers claim to give the buyers a glimpse of what it is like to live like a white Westerner. The advertisement sells false perceptions of whiteness and the product itself to trick its consumers into buying more of the product. Its advertisement assumes that achieving whiteness is the ultimate goal.

Chinese Beauty Advertisement for Johom “Pure and Natural” skin whitening cream.

The Zipper Effect good topic

The zipper on the woman’s face in the advertisement is one of the first things the consumer will notice on this ad. It is unzipping the woman’s outer skin, revealing a whiter, smoother skin below to get rid of the outer, blemish-filled, darker skin. From this visual, we can assume that the skin cream is advertising the revelation of a better, newer you. By using their product, they are claiming that your skin will be better in all aspects, but most importantly–white. The advertisers use the zipper as a way to force the consumers to believe that their product will give you the skin lightening you want. It is as if you must remove your darker layer in order to achieve the inner layer that you want–whiteness. The advertisers are insinuating that everyone has a deeper inner whiteness than can be achieved by the product. By assuming that every consumer wants to remove some sort of “darker” layer for a lighter one implies that whiteness is the ultimate goal for beauty standards.

the zipped and the unzipped via the beauty product: indications behind it

Removal of Blemishes any critical claim that can make?

The beauty advertisement uses the zipper to show the transformation from dark to light skin, but also includes the removal of blemishes and other unfavorable facial attributes. The whiter complexion does not seem to have any marks like the darker outer layer. From these denotations, I can see how the lightening of skin is now implied as an even more favorable trait. The advertisers are claiming that not only does the whiter skin “look better,” it also removes unwanted blemishes to produce clear skin, even though this is not even in the product description. It is clear that the product’s purpose is to whiten the skin, but the removal of blemishes insinuates that looking whiter means more beauty overall. The advertisers are selling the product to reproduce the social claims that whiteness is better for every part of your skin and life.

English Text

The advertisement presents English text as the only font on the product. However, my research on the product indicates that this product is made in China with natural herbal ingredients from its home country. From this observation, we can assume that this subtle change was not an accident. I believe that the connotations of the switch of language are an indication of the market the sellers are trying to advertise. The skin whitening cream is marketed to allow its buyers to look more like the Caucasian Westerners, and the English text only reaffirms how much closer the buyers will be towards a more “Western” lifestyle. The buyers of skin whitening cream would be attracted to the product’s the devotion to be more like the Western Caucasians, which would then get them to buy the product. The switch of the English text could even trick the buyers that this product is from America, even though this is not true. I believe that the English text was a subtle trick to increase sales by the advertisers.

By sending misleading messages in its images, the advertisers sell a product that falsify its effects and reproduce unattainable beauty ideals of whiter skin. The subtle messages of the zippered skin, English writing, erasure of blemishes, and many other aspects of the advertisement are ways that the advertisement sell consumers an unhealthy, unattainable beauty ideal. The consumers are only forced to believe that whiteness, specifically Western Caucasian whiteness, is the highest form of beauty through the product itself and its advertisement.

nice subtitles. explanation could sound more critical.