Ad Age, a trade publication that keeps tabs on the shifting trends and constant mergers of the advertising world (of which I was briefly a member), has published their top 10 female advertising icons of the last 100 years. Guess who clocked in at #4? My girl Rosie. But who else is on the list?
Miss Chiquita
1. Morton Salt Umbrella Girl
2. Betty Crocker
3. Miss Chiquita
4. Rosie the Riveter
5. Josephine the Plumber (Comet)
6. Mrs. Olsen (Folgers coffee)
7. Madge the Manicurist (Palmolive dishwashing detergent)
8. Rosie the Waitress (Bounty paper towels)
9. Clara Peller (Wendy’s)
10. Flo (Progressive Insurance)
Here’s another way to think about that list: kitchen, kitchen, kitchen, Rosie, cleaning, kitchen, cleaning, cleaning, restaurant, insurance.
There’s a chicken and egg argument in the advertising world; can advertising compel social change? Or does social change drive changes in advertising?
Bottom line, advertising is about…bottom line. Advertisers will try create campaigns that resonate with how people currently feel to convince consumers that the product “understands” them. That said, pushing the social envelope can benefit an advertiser if they correctly predict the direction the winds are blowing. In those cases, the visibility an advertising campaign brings to an issue can function as a propelling force, both bolstering a movement and selling a product.
Case 1: Huggies – The Huggies “Dad Test” campaign generated some controversy earlier this year when some commenters argued that insulted fathers by suggesting parental incompetence. The gist of the spot was that leaving babies with their fathers was the ultimate test of a diaper’s dependability, with the clear subtext that dads are buffoons who don’t know how to take care of their children and consequently need a superior product to keep it together.
While the spot is indeed insulting, Huggies’ market is not stay-at-home dads, or even engaged equal-partner dads. Huggies is going after the moms who do feel like their husband are either unwilling or unable to do half the parenting, and unfortunately, that’s still a big market. If the ad didn’t resonate with moms, it would never have made it on the air, so in this case, Huggies placed the right bet. While the brand could bet on the social movement towards egalitarian diaper-changing, they’ve correctly guessed that as a whole, society is not quite there yet, and the “dad incompetency” message is still going to be effective for a few more years. Here’s to hoping that as Millennials start reproducing, the monetary momentum behind this kind of media dad-bashing loses steam.
Case 2: Target – After getting slammed for donating to anti-gay organizations a few years ago, Target has done an about face (at least, on the surface) with their wedding registry print ad that features a gay couple. While Target certainly risks alienating a substantial percentage of the population with an ad like this, their brand managers have judged that the marriage equality movement is gaining enough ground that they want to be on the right side of history. Simultaneously, an ad like this does tremendous work for said movement, as a national brand like Target (like Ellen for JC Penny), validates gays and lesbians as a meaningful and valued segment of America in a public, widespread, visually impactful way.
It’s not so hard to imagine these reversed. Huggies could have decided that equal childcare was close enough on the horizon to get a head-start on appealing to those parents. Target could have decided enough Americans are still anti-gay that this ad was too risky. But brands walk a very tricky balance, and the best ones choose the issues on which they can be an early supporter without sticking their necks too far out of the mainstream.
I bring this up because I think it’s telling that the most recent addition to Ad Age‘s canon is not selling a cleaning, cooking, or household product. Flo sells insurance? Boring? Yes, but not a particularly gendered sphere of consumer marketing (comparatively speaking). Progress? Remains to be seen
Related Post: The whole Rosie in the News archive.
Related Post: Interview with a social strategist.
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