It's Mother's Day which like most holidays means showing love to family, hanging out with others... and ads. "We all know that women like shopping," says the Media (yes capital M there), "So why not tell them that they should go shopping on their day and come buy our products?" These ads are everywhere; in the newspaper, like the Target one we'll be looking at, on TV, and on billboards as you drive around the city. They all want to lure in mothers looking to shop on their day, but what do they tell us about what makes up a mother with the products they advertise? With Target's Mother's Day ad, they effectively create a stereotypical target (get it?) market profile of what makes a mother.
The first thing that really jumps out of the ad is the light blues and pinks of most of the products displayed. These colors usually are associated with newborn babies and the products for these babies which makes the connection to the mother and Mother's Day. Then if we look at the products we can see how each of them ties into a stereotype about what mothers are like. The top two products are a whisking machine and a coffee machine. This ties into the stereotype that mothers are the cooks in the family (which I can say from personal experience that is not necessarily true) and the image of mothers rushing off to work with a cup of coffee in their hands. The bottom image in the middle is a large purse/tote bag which again is based on the persona of women always having a large bag with them and that mothers always are able to dig into their purse and bring out just about anything that someone needs (tissues, chapstick, bandaids, etc.). The final two products shown are a FitBit band and a pair of Beats earbuds. These two products tie into the mother stereotype of the active mother who is always trying to stay in safe (aka the neighborhood jogger and Zumba participant). Thus, with all of the products that Target incorporates into their Mother's Day advertisement, we can see how they are able to effectively create a target market profile of the stereotypical mother as defined by the media and society.
So what do mothers want to do on Mother's Day? The Media thinks the answer is shopping and maybe they aren't wrong. Whatever the case, they are definitely prepared to convince the mothers that they do want to shop and that only their brand (in this case Target) will be able to provide the best products for the lowest prices. They use stereotypes to create an effective profile and tap into internal feelings on what makes a mother. So Happy Mother's Day Mom! Hopefully, you aren't already at Target.
I definitely agree with you. The media perpetuates stereotypes, such as that mothers are cooks and shoppers of the family. Although there are many families who do fit this stereotype, and therefore can relate to the advertising, there are many families who do not fit this generic description. This creates an exclusionary culture that pigeon-holes people into superficial roles. Looking at the ad, do you think that their emphasis on blue is Target's way of trying appear as if they do not support the stereotypes, since blue is traditionally associated with males and not females?
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