Lecture Notes: Women's Empowerment and Advertising

Introduction

• Discussion begins with personal reflections on hair and self-care.
• Emphasis on the significance of hair and its impact on self-esteem.

Family Background

• Speaker shares a troubled family history:
  • Parents divorced when speaker was 5.
  • Mother moved out of state, leading to estrangement from father.
  • Acknowledges issues of dysfunction, mental illness, and substance abuse in family.

Advertising Industry Insights

• Advertising as a powerful medium shaping identity:
  • Most commercials are produced in New York.
  • Ads reflect societal expectations of women and femininity.
  • In the 1960s, advertising often presented a male perspective.

Personal Experiences in Advertising

• Speaker worked as a creative director in advertising.
• Gender dynamics in the workplace:
  • Women often marginalized.
  • Men frequently took credit for women's ideas.
• Speaker’s awakening as a feminist:
  • Acknowledges early beliefs in female equality.

Personal Relationships

• Meeting Ilon, a supportive figure in the speaker's life:
  • Ilon's nurturing presence contrasted with speaker's mother's negativity.
  • Ilon provided encouragement and recognition, fostering self-worth.

Development of the "Because You’re Worth It" Campaign

• Campaign for L'Oréal's hair color Preference:
  • Speaker’s role in creating the tagline.
  • Experience of being in a male-dominated brainstorming session.
  • Shift in messaging to empower women rather than objectify them.
• Tagline's impact:
  • Became a national campaign.
  • L'Oréal adopted it as a central motto.

Feminist Themes in Advertising

• Tagline as a feminist manifesto:
  • Encouraged women to assert their worth independently of men.
  • Empowering message: "I’m worth it" resonated widely.
• Recognition of the tagline as influential in women's beauty advertising.

Reflection on Personal Growth

• Speaker's journey post-advertising:
  • Transitioned to academia as a professor of English.
  • Focus on Victorian literature and gender studies.
• Ilon's lasting influence:
  • Helped speaker navigate motherhood and self-identity.

Conclusion

• Emphasis on the broader message of caring for people and recognizing everyone's worth.
• Final reflection on the importance of empowerment in both personal and societal contexts.