SEXY SHAMPOO

While flipping through an old issue of Harper’s Bazaar I came across a controversial commercial advertisement by Herbal Essences. The advertisement contains product images of Herbal Essences Smooth and Shine Collections shampoo which is promoted by Nicole Scherzinger, a recording artist and television personality. Within this advertisement are abundant uses of sexually suggestive wording, such as “Get ready for the climatic return”, “Because You Never Forget Your #First Time”, and “You’ll want to do it in the morning. Sometimes twice a day” (Herbal Essences, 2013).  Herbal Essences’ advertisement disturbingly defines American womanhood as being blatantly sexual by overemphasizing the prominence of sex throughout daily life.

In accordance to the finding summarized by L. Monique Ward regarding depictions of sexuality on television, the Herbal Essences advertisement is not explicitly graphic but is instead dominated by verbal innuendo in much the same way that is prevalent in television media (Ward, 2003, p. 351). All of the double meanings incorporated throughout this advertisement produce overt sexual interpretations which aid in distorting the conceived occurrences of female sexuality. This advertisement inflates the frequency of young women’s sexual impulses and assists in characterizing American females as a continuously and overtly sexual gender.

            Herbal Essences associates sensual qualities with the shampoo product, enabling them to establish an association between the shampoo that they produce and culturally desirable human qualities, such as attractiveness and sexuality. This ad’s emphasis on sexuality mirrors the findings of Janna L. Kim and her colleagues by insinuating that women can, do, and should objectify themselves in order to gain the attention of the opposite sex (Kim, 2007, p. 151). Herbal Essences suggests that their product and therefore, sexuality will make them “…naturally irresistible” (Herbal Essences, 2013). Herbal Essences uses Nicole Scherzinger as an exemplar of reigning social values; these values include femininity and sexuality. Scherzinger is portrayed with her hands entangled in her dark, disheveled hair and her body language is sexually forward, proud, and flaunting (Herbal Essences, 2013). These depictions imply that this shampoo will help consumers differentiate themselves in sexually appealing ways and evoke eroticism when performing habitual actions, such as washing one’s hair!

           The confident images and unabashed language used within this advertisement creates an impression that the ideal American woman is continuously forward about her sexuality. This artificial representation of young womanhood may compel viewers to reevaluate their own sexuality in comparison to this culturally simulated ideal.  Herbal Essences’ misrepresentation of reality could cause adolescents and young adults to seek intensified emotional experiences simply because they believe that their peers are engaging in frequent impassioned sexual activities. So ladies instead of saying “YES, YES, YES” to sexual objectifying depictions in the media, say “NO” and define your sexuality independently!

References

Herbal Essences. (2013, March). [Advertisement for Herbal Essences]. Harper’s Bazaar, 3611.

Kim, J. L., Lynn Sorsoli, C., Collins, K., Zylbergold, B. A., Schooler, D., & Tolman, D. L. (2007). From sex to sexuality: Exposing the heterosexual script on primetime network television. Journal of Sex Research, 44(2), 145-157.

Ward, L. M. (2003). Understanding the role of entertainment media in the sexual socialization of American youth: A review of empirical research. Developmental Review, 23(3), 347-388.