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Candie's

‘Candies’ is an American brand aimed at girls ages 7-12 and  13-24. The clothing line is a nationwide favourite among teens and has a pop culture feel to it. The brand is always fronted by an ‘it girl’ and past ‘Candies girls’ include Britney Spears (singer), Lea Michelle (Glee Star) and Hilary Duff. To get a better feel for the brand I have provided a link to the website below.
http://www.candies.com/spring2012/index.asp

 

The ‘it’ girl used in these commercials was well known actress Vanessa Hudgens whose claim to fame was landing the lead role in High School Musical on Disney channel.  She has long dark hair, flawless skin and a slim bronzed body. Many girls look up to Vanessa as a role model because she is confident and relatable. She is also a healthy weight.

 This commercial contains 6 different Candi-isms which represent the brand.
 

 

1)      The first clip is of Vanessa in a supermarket aisle saying, 'A Candies girl knows that every aisle is a runway.'We see her wearing a short skirt, high heels and carrying a large pink bag. In this ad, pink is the dominant colour which portrays Vanessa as girly, fun and feminine. This segment is shot from a low angle which makes Vanessa look confident and carefree even though supermarket shopping is quite mundane. This clip suggests that wearing Candies will enable girls to show off and feel more confident. It also reinforces  the stereotype that getting groceries is typically women's work.

 

2)      In the next clip we see Vanessa  lying on a bed reading 'Pride and Predjuice' while sucking a red lollipop. Candie's-ism #27 reads, 'Candie's girls know that smart is beautiful.' Vanessa is wearing a light purple top and her outfit is quite conservative compared to her other photos. Sucking a lollipop has suggestive connotations and makes Vanessa seem ditzy, playful and sexually suggestive. Advertisers use lollipops to make teenage girls appear 'innocent,' and 'pure' because it's stereotypically something little girls do. Vanessa appears intelligent because she's wearing glasses and reading a book however the lollipop suggests a girly and fun side. Her body language however contradicts this  image in the way that she is draped across the bed in a position that has sexual connatations which are associated with older women. This image feeds into the desire that teenage girls have to be seen as older and desirable while still being allowed to be immature in some ways.

 

3)   The advertisement then goes on to show Vanessa ironing a pair of jeans, wearing a purple bra and underwear. Vanessa looks happy and playful as she's sporting a smile and waving her arms up in the air.Candies-ism #18 pops up on the screen reading,' Candie's girls know the value of a hard days work.' A 'hard days work,' referring to ironing the large stack of clothes we see to her left. We also assume that Vanessa doesn't have a 'paid job'  this gives the message to young girls that spending the day in this way is a valid hard days work.This ad is sexist as it shows ironing as typically 'womens work' and is being glamorised for the next generation of women. The fact that Vanessa seems to be enjoysing ironing which isn't very difficult tends to suggest that she isn't capable of much more.   We also see Vanessa twirling chewing gum around her finger and blowing bubblegum in a sexually suggestive way. This represents teenage girls as girly, fun and promiscuous.

 

 

4)  In this next segment we see Vanessa on the floor, by the fridge with her knees apart, drinking from a jug of milk. Milk is typically something young children like to drink which contradicts Vanessa's 'mature' position. Candies have done this in order to make Vanessa seem youthful and relatable to young girls who are watching. Vanessa's wearing a strapless purple top and short black pants. Her pose is extremely suggestive as she's showing 'flirtacious' parts of her body which include the neck, forearm and cleavage. Vanessa sitting on the floor is degrading because it portrays teenage girls as weak and inferior. When milk accidentally pours out of Vanessa's hand, Candies-ism #3 reads, 'Candie's girls never cry over spilt milk.' 'Don't cry over spilt milk,' is an old saying which means don't spend time fussing over something you can't fix. Clean up the mess and move on.This is a positive message to be giving teenage girls who often worry about little things in life they have no control over.

 

5) In the next clip we see Vanessa sitting on a chair with a plate of cupcakes on her lap licking sprinkes from her finger provocatively. Cupcakes would attract the younger market because they seem cute and interesting. However coupled with her suggestive behaviour, the commercial doesn't seem appropriate for young teens. Candies-ism #24 comes on the screen reading, 'Candie's girls insist that Sprinkles are a food group.' This slogan can be taken two ways. The majority of teens would see this as cheeky and fun but it also portray girls as stupid because, as we all know ,sprinkles are not a food group. Vanessa's wearing  a lot of jewellery such as rings, bracelets, earings and a necklace which makes her appear very girly and feminine.

 

6) In the final clip Vanessa is joyfully skipping while vacumming the floor. Candies-ism #16 reads, 'Candie's girls always get their work done before play.' Vanessa then leaps onto the toy tiger and sips from a mug that has a moustache. In keeping with the rest of the advertisement, the Candies -ism has a double meaning. To a younger audience the message encourages them to do their homework and chores before playing outside. However, an older audience may view the 'playing' as having a sexual connotation. Vacumming the floor stereotypes teenage girls as 'maids' who are supposed to do the housework. The white tiger is a symbol of strength and power which is an uplifting symbol for teenage girls. Finally the moustache on the mug adds some comic relief to make the ad seem more playful and fun. The ad finishes with Vanessa pushing a large baggage carrier full of pink Candies bags across the screen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think this ad gives a negative representation of teenage girls.

 

 

 This commercial portrays teenage girls as immature and sexually available rather than intelligent, well rounded individuals.  Candies representation of teenage girls is also very carefree, confident and energetic.In the commercial teenage girls are seen as a 'homehelp' who will do the cooking, cleaning and ironing 'before play.'

 

The features used to establish this representation are colour, language and props. For the majority of the commercial we see Vanessa wearing light purple which is associated with luxury, royalty and creativity. Light purple is regarded as a good choice for female design and over '75% of pre-adolescent children prefer purple to all other colours.' The colour makes Vanessa appear girly and sweet which links to the brand's name and overall image. The Candie's-isms throughout the commercial are always highlighted in pink to convey a playful and 'girly' theme. Pink represents immaturity, warmth and sensitivity. The ad uses Candie's-isms to portray humour and fun. Each Candie's-ism starts by saying, 'Candie's Girl's, which creates a pop culture feel. Each saying contains a word which represents teenage girls i.e 'runway, beautiful, work, sprinkles and play.'  The advertisement has used bubblegum and lollipops to make the ad appear fun and relatable to a younger audience. Vanessa sucking on a lollipop and twirling a piece of chewing gum between her fingers makes her seem immature and ditzy. These lollies also have sexual connations which makes her appear sexually availible to males. The music playing throughout the ad is very upbeat which conveys a happy and carefree vibe.

 

There is a difference between representation and reality because Candie's want teenage girls to think that by wearing Candies clothes they can look as confident and attractive as Vanessa. Candies have exaggerated Vanessa's bubbly behaviour to make teenage girls admire her outgoing personality. Outgoing is seen as a desirable trait. In the commerical we always see Vanessa wearing high heels, feminine clothing and jewellery which reinforces the stereotype that all girls are very feminine. Her clothes are predominantly 'girly' colours and the use of pink and purple is everywhere! In no part of the ad is Vanessa see anything but attractive and well groomed. The advertisement also fails to celebrate girls who enjoy typically male activities such as sport and rugby. This suggests that being a girly girl is superior but very limiting. Vanessa is portrayed to girls as beautiful because she has long brown hair, a slim figure and a symmetrical face. This reinforces the stereotype that teenage girls should look immaculate and 'doll like.' This isn't a fair representation of girls because it places a huge amount of pressure on them. The advertisers make unattainable beauty appear normal in order to blur the lines between fantasy and reality. No-one can look perfect all the time. We  all have blemishes and imperfections because we are real humans, not fake barbie dolls.
 

Candies representation may leave girls feeling insecure about their bodies because they don't look as beautiful as Vanessa. Girls may also feel pressured to conform and become a 'girly girl' in order to be recognised as beautiful and attractive. Candie's representation of women encourages girls to aspire to nothing more than domestic tasks. Throughout the ad Vanessa spends most of her time inside doing housework such as ironing, vacuming and grocery shopping.  Yonger girls watching this advert may see Vanessa acting sexually and strive to be like her because she's 'sexy'. This sexualisation of young girls is inappropriate for their age and affects their natural innocence.

The features used in this commercial differ from lynx ads which tend to portray women as mysterious 'creatures' who are all strikingly beautiful. An example of this is a Lynx ad titled , 'Tribal Women' where women are wearing animal skin clothing and carrying spears. The women behave like animals by crouching down and snearing with their teeth and the man appears mystified with this 'foreign' species. This is degrading as Lynx are likening women to animals. Throughout the ad we often see shots of cleavage and bodies which is very objecifying. Lynx focuses more on a woman's sex appeal where at least Candies tries to include some material about personality and character.

 

As a result of this advertisement society may percieve teenage girls as inferior, ditzy individuals who are never serious. Teenage girls are always portrayed  as sexually suggestive which is very degrading and can result in girls being exploited.  Society, males in particular, are prone to objectifying girls and seeing them as a nice pair of legs or a large cleavage rather than as individuals. By making Vanessa look 'doll like' Candies are reinforcing the message that appearance should be very important to a girl. This attitude encourages girls to believe their beauty is based on their looks rather than their personality or character.

 

Ella McDonald