This advert is very good in the sense that they’re advocating gender, sexuality, race and social class. For starters, they have 3 characters, two men and one female. The female is a person of colour (representation of race), the main male character is an openly gay white male (representation of sexuality) and the second male who is the ‘bell boy’ is also Caucasian, (this has representations of reversed gender stereotypes as usually adverts would cast a female to reinforce the Male Gaze, however, this advert’s main target are females and men who don’t identify as straight, so the male gaze wouldn’t even be an issue.
While it is amazing that there is Pride representation in this advertisement, I do feel as though they have over exaggerated the fact that he is gay. The fluidity of identity is great and many gay males who are interested in makeup are stereotypically seen as the way he has been portrayed, which is no problem, but the advert makes it seem more over the top and exaggerated than it needs to be. Almost like they are trying to show off that they are the first beauty company to include a gay male in their advert, instead of focusing on what they’re representing and what they’re selling.
By having the apartment/room in ‘New York’ it indicates that people with a higher social class are still legible to purchase the Mascara without feeling ashamed. The apartment/room has a window that you can see out of that shows the outside as a bit of a dump/not as cleaned up and gorgeous as it typically should be, which has representations of people with lower social classes are able to purchase the item too.
The is a hashtag in the bottom left corner during part of the video. This is a very good marketing move as people who see it will go on social media and use it, therefor, spreading it around and basically doing the promo for the company for free.
‘Pushing the frontiers further, a gay YouTube star has become the first male model for international cosmetic giant Maybelline.‘ Not only was this a huge step, but it was also international, meaning that people from all cultures, sexuality, gender, race and social class is available to view it.
‘Manny tweeted, “Can’t believe Maybelline posted me on Instagram. I think I’m the first boy they’ve ever posted! We’re breaking boundaries guys!”‘ This suggests that it is a major step in the right direction to some sort of equality.
‘“I’ve gone through all of it, I’ve literally heard every single name in the book be told to me,” he recalled.‘ Talking about homosexuality and homophobia, he speaks up about being called many inappropriate names. This advert allows him to feel like himself and keep confident, which is why the gender and sexuality representation is a major key as other males or people part of the LGBTQ+ Community can also feel themselves when they use the Maybelline Mascara (the product they are trying to sell)
