Analysis of Barbie Ads (Essay Example)

Toys are used at a young age to help build that imagination and help the children live out their dreams. As a kid, we are given toys that we play with to the ability of our own imagination. When I was little, I would constantly live my life through toys and playing pretend. I would act out who I want to become through my dolls. I would play with these dolls in hope that I would be just like the doll both in looks and occupation. If a young girl was to act this out at that age, they would be judged. In the ted talk we watched, girls are looked at as cute or adorable. This goes hand in hand with dolls, especially Barbies. Being a young girl meant that I was supposed to play with dolls and be a cute little angel, but a child’s imagination is their limit. Girls play and live through their dolls, but if they lived that in real life at their age, then they would be judged and laughed at. Advertisements play a big role in what people think is okay for each gender or age to do. 

Many ads on television appeal to those watching, but there are some problems with some of these commercials. This happens many times with children’s ads. Girls are often looked at as normal when they say what they want to be. However, if they were to act it out, like in the commercial, they would be judged and looked weird. Commercials often promote certain ideas and promote certain things that a normal TV viewer may not see. This happens in Barbie ads when they are intending for girls to buy their product because they only use young girls. Barbie ads typically give the image of what girls want to look like, but this one focused more on who they could be. The one problem with this is the fact that the girls’ dreams are not coming true, they are all imaginary. The girls in the commercial were living life through the Barbie. This is a normal thing to do, but the ad stops there. The young girls are acting out what they hope to become, but the problem is that it is not real. The jobs are all their imagination. After a careful analysis of the actors’ roles, appearance, and position in the ad, it is evident that the “Imagine the Possibilities” Barbie ad portrays the idea that girls are supposed to play with dolls and imagine what they want to be, but when living those realities, their imagination is the possibility. 

The commercial uses roles to present the message about the weird reality of young girls’ imaginations. All five girls were put into five different situations. In each of those situations, they acted out possible dreams or future occupations that they may desire. One problem with this is the way that the audience or people around them reacted. Many of the people around did not take them seriously and laughed. The girl teaching said that dogs are not as smart because there is no high school for dogs. This just caused the students to laugh. Girls do not know much because they are young and are only in elementary school. The audience also looked at them weird and overall they were not taken seriously. The one girl who was the vet was asked by one of the owners if she was kidding. It was a rude response and could have crushed the girls' dreams. The rude reactions of the audience may give the girls the idea that they will get reactions like that in real life work. This is not the case and the girls need to know that. The girls were not performing these occupations in real life, it was all in their imagination. This commercial could pose problems for girls thinking that if they did these certain occupations, then they would get yelled out. Girls need to know that they can be whoever they want, but not only in their imaginations which is a big problem. The roles given to these girls caused them to be made fun of and not taken seriously. 

The commercial not only uses the roles, but it also uses the appearance of the girls to support their argument. They make the young girls wear clothes that adults would wear in their everyday life or for their certain job. This is normal for adults, but not for the young girls in the ad. Their outfits were not what the audience would expect a child to wear, therefore the audience reacted by giving them weird looks. The audience found it unusual that the girls were wearing what they were and began laughing. One of the girls is on the phone in the airport talking as if she is a real businesswoman which got her a lot of interesting looks. Barbie chose to make them look like an adult, but still let them keep some aspects of their childhood or adolescence. All of the girls kept their adolescence by not using makeup but are grown up through the way they are dressed. Barbie also chose to not overdo their hair and left their hair natural or as a child would normally wear their hair. Keeping these aspects of normality for the girls gives the idea of make-believe. If they were in an actual setting, then they would have makeup and their hair done. The way they are dressed gives the illusion that they are working, but the way they keep their innocence gives the idea that it is just pretend. The dolls are a way for them to imagine what they aspire to be, but not live the life they desire. It is all a work of their imagination. 

The commercial uses the relation of the girls to present the idea about the way girls act out who they want to be. Barbie targets young girls for their products. One way this happens is through the use of only using young girls in their commercials. The focus of the ad are the girls who are living or technically pretending who they want to be. The main focus of the commercial is the young girls creating these roles. The little girls are the ones in the front of the room, in front of a team, or overall the main focus of the scene. The girls are showing their ability to be confident and become what they want to become by standing straight and being in front of an audience. The young girls are either loud or the main focal point. At the end of the ad, the girl is shown holding the doll teaching the class. The audience is then shown as the other barbies sitting on cardboard or fake seats in the “classroom”. This shows the illusion of the ad. It gives that idea of living their dream life, but through their dolls. The dolls are their hopes, but those hopes are all their imagination at their age. The way the ad shows the girls playing with the dolls at the end shows that the girls imagination is their limit. 

The ad shows abnormal roles and appearances of young girls. Young girls are often judged for acting out their dreams. The commercial shows young girls who are becoming who they want to be or aspire to be, but they were just imagining and pretending to be those people through their barbies. The media expects young girls to play with dolls and play pretend, but they do not imagine them to become or be the people they pretend to be at that young age. The ad portrays the young girls as people living a normal life and becoming who they want to be. The one controversial problem is that they are just pretending to be those people. Barbie is trying to convey an important message that girls can be who they want to be, but they are doing it in a way that may cause problems. The girls are only imagining what they could be and who they become, but the people react to the girls in a way that may be degrading. They are looked at weird and laughed at for being who they want to be. This may hurt a little girl's idea of their future and dreams because they will not want to be laughed at. This ad can hurt young girls' feelings and may cause them to think they cannot be what they want. The ad does not include very many subtitles, but they do have people laughing and judging the young girls. The script of the ad shows little girls in important professional situations, but they are talking like little girls. This is not good because they are pretending, but it portrays them as someone who does not know what they are talking about. One thing that one may note is the fact that there are no boys in the commercial. Barbie’s main audience is little girls, but that is not the only ones who play with them. Some little boys play with barbies too and when theta re not included in a commercial, then they may get the idea that they are not supposed to play with those certain toys. At the end of the day, the ad has a good message, the analysis proves that girls can imagine what they want to become, but possibly what they want to become will always be in their imagination.