Who created this media message?  Why?

Silpada Jewelry created this magazine advertisement in order to spread knowledge and appeal of their product to a larger audience.

Who is the target audience?  What text, images or sounds suggest this?  

The target audience for this ad is white, middle to upper-class women ages 25-55.  This is suggested by the image of a white woman, probably in her early thirties, who is modeling the jewelry.  Her self-satisfied, nearly haughty, expression and her hands on her hips imply that she is very proud of the way she looks.

What is the text (literal meaning) of the message?

A white woman with brown hair wears a beige sweater and stands in front of a neutral brown background.  She has accented her simple attire with bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces.  A quote, supposedly by this woman, says, “I found a way to look so good, people think I’m shallow.”  There is another piece of text on the lower right hand corner which says, “Silpada, find yourself in it.”

What is the subtext (unstated or hidden message)?

This ad implies that shallow women are more beautiful than smart women, and that beautiful women are shallow.  Although successfully targeted at women, this ad is undeniably sexist.  In our culture, it is offensive and appalling that the media would continue to place women in a position of inferiority to men.  The ad also implies that a material thing, in this case jewelry, gives a woman her independence or power and her physical attraction.

What tools of persuasion are being used?

Beautiful People – The woman wearing the jewelry is dressed in a casual and flattering manner.

Explicit Claims – When a woman puts on jewelry it does make her look shallow and beautiful.  The use of “explicit claims” is flawed in the ad because the woman looks sophisticated, smart, and beautiful, not shallow.

Testimonials – The quote in the ad is supposedly by the woman modeling the jewelry.

Flattery – Silpada sends the message that if a woman buys their jewelry, she will be beautiful and, more importantly, other people will think she is beautiful.

See "The language of persuasion"

What healthy messages are communicated? What unhealthy messages are communicated?

There really appears to be no healthy messages in this advertisement. The implication that buying and wearing this perfume will help the purchaser achieve elements such as beauty, sexiness, elegance, wealth and refinement is simply a fantasy that no product can provide.

What part of the story is not being told?

The price of the jewelry can not be found in the ad or the website that is provided in the ad.  On EBay, the price of Silpada jewelry ranged from $6 for a simple pair of used stud earrings, to $300 for a new silver bracelet.  The woman in the ad is wearing dozens of pieces of jewelry, collectively worth hundreds of dollars.

The type of woman that the media generally recognizes is shallow and “beautiful.” For many of these female celebrities, this beauty is superficial and stems largely from plastic surgery, make up, and a lot of money.  The true beauty of a woman is not created with make up or jewelry.  Silpada disguises its sexist intentions by making the woman modeling the jewelry look confident yet happy that people think she is shallow.  Many women would find it very offensive if the general perception about them was that they were only shallow and beautiful.

Charlotte Wygant (Albuquerque Academy, 2008) is working in the NMMLP office this summer, and will be entering George Washington University in the fall.