Herbal Essences: The Only Shampoo to Give Bikers That Stunning Look They All Want

Ever think of showering in the middle of a park because some biker chick gave you a bottle of shampoo? Herbal Essences’ biker commercial tries to break the gender barrier normally associated with shampoo commercials.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIs7OJ9FfGE

From humble beginnings as roaming nomads, men and women were assigned different roles in society. These nomads knew how to live off the land by using its resources to better their society. At some point, animal domestication turned horses as an invaluable method of transportation; a method almost always reserved for men. Jumping forward a few millennia, the “iron horses” of today typically provoke the same thought today - that men are the ones riding the motorcycles. Both then and now, these expectations held by the general population set different standards, telling how each gender should live. Herbal Essences wants to remove gender stereotypes from its products, by playing off society’s expectations and going against them through gender role reversal.

The commercial starts out with a girl dressed in leather getting off a motorcycle and showering with the new shampoo from Herbal Essences. After using the product, she has beautiful hair that any other girl would envy. As she walks back, she sees a rough looking male biker and passes him the bottle of citrus flavored shampoo, only to receive an odd glare, but the biker takes her unspoken advice and uses the shampoo to reveal incredible long hair that makes his fellow road warriors stare. Certainly, an element of humor comes into play with his final pose before the narrator ends the commercial with the company slogan.

The commercial is notable because Herbal Essences, one of the leading hair care products, is usually associated with women, but this time the brand tries to appeal to both genders. First, not all women have to be the stereotype, usually associated with superior hair care products. Here, the audience sees that the girl enjoys the rough life of a biker just as much as the guys do. When she decides to clean up though, she is not deterred by the feminine stereotype associated by Herbal Essences. Additionally, the rough-looking biker, one would think, would not care about his hygiene as much. However, not only does he take advice from a girl and uses the new shampoo, but he also makes his friends do a double take at his new look.

Such issues might prompt one to ask, “Why are these stereotypes around?” One explanation comes from the all too common homophobic nature of many Americans in today’s culture. Many men see competing shampoo/body wash products advertized with men who always get the most gorgeous date after using that product. As a result, the opposite idea that that using a “woman’s” shampoo could possibly make a man seem feminine, a trait wrongly deemed unacceptable by many Americans. Herbal Essences’ message reverses this notion because no one would question a biker’s masculinity. Similarly, there is a negative stereotype associated with “biker girls” who are, seen as being uncouth outcasts from society. However, the female biker in this commercial appears quite feminine, while still able to enjoy the open road on a bike. In all, it does not matter what a person uses, society has just skewed the ideas of what is acceptable. As the biker probably thought as he was showing off to his friends, while this is humorous, what in society says a man cannot be “pretty”?

IKEA Gay Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBQjz6OCa1Y

IKEA is a global ready-to-assembly, furniture store. It is headquartered in the Netherlands and it is known for its easy build and simple design. They put this commercial out on the market because they wanted to enhance their products and to make their products seem superior.     

This commercial shows negative stereotypes on straight man and positive stereotypes on the gays. Netherlands, being the first country that legalized gay marriage, appears to be more alert and concern about gays community and gays right. As such, the IKEA commercial that projects a more positive stereotypes on gays, to some extent, discloses the image of Netherlands as being a more liberal and respectful country for the gay community and it uses this stereotypes to gain the gays' attention to its product.


Another stereotype  that is portrayed is that straight men are usually dirty and unorganized. In this video, the stereotype is portrayed by the guy walking into his messy house with women he brought home. The scene of him walking into his house with a woman was repeated several times. The first two times, the girls left because his place was cluttered. This plays off the stereotype that a typical straight male does not pay attention to details or organization.


Soon, the guy realized that his messy house was the cause that annoyed the girls whom he brought home. In attempt from having the same problem again, he cleaned his place up and reorganized it using the products from IKEA. The third when he brought a girl home,  the girl was shocked at how clean and tidy his house was. She was smiling in the beginning but later on changed to a rather suspicious expression. When the man went in the other room to show the girl how neat he was, she immediately ran out the door. She was later shown talking to one of her friends about how she thinks her date was a gay.

The last part of the video plays off the stereotype that all gay men are neat, clean, and tidy. While some gay men are extremely neat and meticulous, it’s unfair to judge all gay men this way. The same can be said about straight men and being messy.

Because IKEA is based in such a liberal country many people are very accepting of the use of homosexuality in commercials. Many people would see this commercial as humorous. Likewise, many conservatives would take offense to this.

Some men find this humorous because they can relate to the man in the commercial. Personally, we have messy rooms so we fit the stereotype well. We understand why straight men are portrayed in this light. It can be offensive to some straight men who have clean rooms, but humor is used to diffuse the tension.

With all said, this commercial is up for discussion because some people take offense to this while others don’t. What is your stance on this commercial?

Beating Your Kids

The link to video is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD6oijh-6DI&feature=fvst

Russell Peters is a Canadian comedian whose parents emigrated from India. His basis for his comedic act is racial stereotypes. Though he tends to focus on his Indian heritage, he still includes a wide range of races in his stand up.

This video is based on stereotypes of minorities versus the dominant white group when it comes to beating your kids. This was obviously a very controversial topic for clear reasons, but it did play on the common perception that white people are too soft on their kids whereas minority parents are not afraid to beat their kids.

One interesting issue that Peters brings up is how the minority groups tend to stick together whereas the white people tend to work together. That implies how people tend to stay in their in groups and didn’t associate much with the out groups. Peters talks about how it was a weird occasion when a white person would come to the group of Russell and his black friends.

One of the cultural differences which was discussed is how minorities get “ass whooping” whereas as white people get sent to their room. He also talks about how the kids have more privacy and independence with western parents such as having a room.

Towards the middle of the video, Peters begins to contrast himself with his friend Ryan. When Ryan cursed his mother, she simply shook her head and didn’t do much to change the situation. Peters said, “His parents never beat him or yelled at him. He could do anything he wanted.” Beating kids in India or other non western cultures is not viewed as abuse but as an act of discipline. In America and Canada, beating your children is a crime because it is viewed as a form of abuse. Peters brings this up when he talked about phoning Children’s Services.

I don’t think all white kids are like Ryan, rude and disrespectful, but many minorities may view him as that. Ryan has much more freedom than many minority kids by not having to deal with the same kind of disciplinary consequences.

A reoccurring theme throughout the quarter is how hyperbolizing stereotypes (like in the case of Ryan) which is why I believe this video isn’t racist. Of course some aspects of the video could come off as being offensive or stereotypical but the main point of the act was for comedic purposes solely. Using humor as a form of targeting stereotypes and racial and ethnic groups is a reoccurring event in modern days society and is seen all throughout youtube videos, stand up acts and standard comedies on television. The widespread audience and attention caught by such “jokes” is seen by numerous viewers and repeated by them resulting in the ongoing process of racial and ethnic targeting in the media. What are your thoughts?