A Sweet Analysis by Makanamai Benitez-Fiame

Introduction

makanama1_2 — 2023-11-25 09:33:06 UTC

We are constantly bombarded with advertisements of various things on a day to day basis. One of these things is from candy companies; specifically chocolate companies. They provide various enticing images of their options for us to think about and purchase the next time we are shopping. Think about it, you see an advertisement in a mall or on the bus, and the next time you're at the store, you find ourself craving that exact item. In an article by ABC7 News, the principal investigator and assistant professor of clinical medicine at USC's Keck School of Medicine, Kathleen Page, found that many of the advertisements we see have an actual chemical-altering effect on our brains (specifically the hypothalamus) that causes us to crave the item we are looking at. One article states that "Chocolate is associated with being sexy, sensual, romantic, and the female figure is very often associated with these words. Not only do chocolate adverts depict women, they also target females as their consumers. Women in general buy more chocolate than men."

HerSHEy's Chocolate Bar

makanama1_2 — 2023-11-26 02:03:04 UTC

The infamous wrapper of a Hershey's chocolate bar (or kisses) are widely recognized. This advertisement is meant to acknowledge women and chocolate, and that women are meant to be celebrated. The organization that sponsored the advertisement, Girls On The Run, which, according to FORBES, "aims to build upon their shared mission of uplifting women to recognize their limitless potential." If you zoom in to the wrapper, or if you had the pleasure of trying one of these limited edition pieces, there are over 200 adjectives that were included to describe women and girls. In this particular advertisement, some examples include Brilliant, Intelligent, and Authentic. To analyze further, this bar and campaign was geared towards women of all ages; which focuses on a specific gender and age group. The word displayed on the bar "Hershey's" is normally all the same font, color, and size, but for this advertisement, they highlighted the portion specifically for women; SHE. There is an underlying representation of hegemonic femininity in the sense that require a woman to be gentle, kind, and child-bearing but it almost celebrates all that women are and meant to be. To me, this advertisement reflects that women are not meant to be masculine in the realm of trying to be like a man, but being confident and comfortable in their own femininity.

Sexy M&M's

makanama1_2 — 2023-11-26 02:27:17 UTC

What a strange thing to be able to market a piece of chocolate to be sexy in the sense that it's perceived, to me, as a female chocolate circle. That's the vibe that this advertisement gives off. It shows the three "female M&M" candies; green, purple, and brown on the label of the M&M wrapper in honor of International Women's Day. It was designed to celebrate and bring attention to the women in our lives that have such an impact. The font is large where it states "Supporting women flipping the status quo" which, I believe, is in correlation to the three female M&M's being upside down. To analyze this, I believe it's meant to show that women are the ones who are ever-changing and always growing, but does that imply men are not? The three female M&M's are also looking at the camera (or viewer) with different facial expressions. The green one has one eyebrow raised and a smirk on her face. The purple one has a finger raised (I couldn't quite figure out why), and a smile on her face. The brown one is wearing glasses and has an expression of a flirtatious grin on her face. Could they be perceived as sexualized? Well, that could be a stretch but they are definitely smirking into the camera and meant to be viewed as playful and caring. The hegemonic ideologies is very similar to that of the Hershey bar; it's meant to bring attention to women and honor them as influential people with International Women's Day coming up, but it also has somewhat suggestive implications and undertones.

No Women Allowed

makanama1_2 — 2023-11-26 03:00:00 UTC

This advertisement has never actually graced my presence before. I was quite shocked when I saw it. The image displays a candy bar called Yorkie chocolate, by Nestle, that has the 'O' with a woman drawn in and is blocked by a red line... to show that no women are allowed. The font on this advertisement is large, bolded, and all caps locked stating that the bar is "kingsize" and not queen-size in parentheses. This type of advertisement can almost be seen as sexist and exclusive of a specific gender. The font and placement of the bar almost looks tattered, possibly in an attempt to make it look rugged and bold... or masculine. This type of advertising can be misleading and consequential because it has a stigma of only allowing masculinity and being discouraging of anything feminine.

Summary

makanama1_2 — 2023-11-26 03:27:30 UTC

These three advertisements are all focused, in one way or another, to gender. It is a correlation that chocolate has in being related to women or to love because it is an aphrodisiac. Hershey company took to their advertisement to promote women in a way that honored them using over 200 adjectives to describe the women and the power of women in our lives. M&M's took to creating female M&M candies in an attempt to promote International Women's Day and keep women at the top of our pedestal of respect. Nestle Yorkie bars went the route of excluding women because this candy bar is made for men and only men deserve to eat a candy bar that is "kingsize". These advertisements can have a profound impact on the message we are sending to people who see the ads in the street, on bus routes, and even in the shopping malls. It can have a lasting effect on how we, as a population, view and treat the women in ur lives; both negative and positive.

Citations

makanama1_2 — 2023-11-26 03:27:35 UTC

ABC7. “California Watch: Food Ads, Sugary Drinks Leave You Craving More, Study Says: ABC7 Chicago.” ABC7 Chicago, July 2, 2012. https://abc7chicago.com/archive/8721939/.

Bond, Amber Love. “Hershey’s Celebrates Women with Limited Edition She Chocolate Bars.” FORBES, March 9, 2023. https://www.forbes.com/sites/amberlovebond/2023/03/08/hersheys-celebrates-women-with-limited-edition-she-chocolate-bars/?sh=15a0f8b2263e.

Wiener-Bronner, Danielle. “How M&M’s Is Making the Most of Its Spokescandies Controversy | CNN Business.” CNN, January 25, 2023. https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/25/business/m-and-ms-controversy-marketing/index.html.