Clorox: Now & Then

Last week in class, we discussed gender stereotypes and how men and women are portrayed in advertisements. While searching for a historical ad, I came upon this Clorox print ad:

This ad for Clorox, a cleaning product, shows that only women know how to clean. For years, women have been portrayed as housewives in advertisements, movies, TV shows, cartoons, and other places. Not all women are housewives (some men are house"husbands"). This ad portrays women as a housewife who can clean, cook, and accomplish other household chores that men or children cannot do, when in fact, this is completely wrong and stereotypical against women.

Now forward to the future, and here is a more recent Clorox print ad:

This print ad shows the Clorox wipes product and a dragon made out of those wipes about to "attack" the mess on the table. The print ad reads, "Be afraid germs, be very afraid." No women are depicted in this advertisement, which shows that ANYONE, not just housewives, can use this product to clean up messes. The dragon shows that these wipes are powerful and it's simple and easy to use. Clorox ads today have improved a lot since and instead of using women for their advertisements, they are now using their imagination to show that anyone can use their product. Well done, Clorox.