Proposal
Project Plan
For this project I’m going to make three fictional advertisements that satirize makeup ads and expose the truer intentions behind beauty industry advertising. The ads will be photoshopped in places where ads usually are, such as billboards, magazine pages and social media feeds.
Manifesto
People believe beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I disagree. Beauty has been established by advertisers, used as a commodity and a vulnerability in women that can be taken advantage of for profit. But this tide is slowly changing, as it needs to be, with increasing awareness of the exploitation by beauty industries and changing of advertising strategies. For one, makeup has become more of an art form and is being advertised that way. This is empowering as an idea, because for decades makeup has been viewed as a sexual symbol or means of demeaning the seriousness of women. However, this makeup as an art form has naturally been taken up by people with a growing influence on social media, and advertisers have used them to reach their audience, often not in the best way. Beauty advertising has also shifted to become more “realistic,” but this is not always presented in the most realistic ways and may even be exploiting feminism.
My artwork calls out these exploitation strategies and shows the persistence of the verbiage and imagery that in advertising today. I highlight issues like colorism and consumerism through phrases and imagery that are seemingly innocent but hold a lot of power in their intentions, and can often influence the customer to buy the product.
As a woman and beauty consumer, I strive to be aware of the way advertising is affecting people and understand their strategies so I can make smarter decisions about what and why I’m buying. I also put my faith in new companies that are pushing to create quality products without exploitative advertising or intentions, although it’s difficult. In an industry that has survived in large part by preying on women’s insecurities, it’s hard to ever know if anything is positive, but ultimately it’s up to each and every one of us to understand if it’s empowering or exploitative to them.
Final Pictures
Pictures in Context
