Advertisments

This is one of those ads that make you think twice. The author of this ad is, of course, Proactiv.  The quoted "Just ask your boyfriend what to do.  Oh, that's right, you don't have a boyfriend." is the message communicated by Proactiv to the audience. This message is very straightfoward, blunt, and pretty harsh.  So, the audience is us (or anyone reading it), but the more specific and targeted audience are females, especially those who don't have boyfriends, and have acne.  The message is meant to be humorous, but targets low self-esteem in young girls.  I do not think this ad, however, will be very effective to this audience.  It is just going to hurt someone's feelings.  It is ultimately stating that you can't have a boyfriend if you have acne.  This message is condescending and focusing on outward beauty, with no regard to inward beauty.  The goal is to convince someone to buy Proactiv, not make them cry theirselves to sleep at night.  I suppose this ad may work for someone who can "take a joke", who can see the supposed humor. It definitely catches your attention, and I guess that is the ultimate purpose of the harsh words.