In today's society of consumerism, women are consistently being bombarded with various forms of advertising. This type of advertising promotes a supply, and demand of products that women feel they need to achieve whatever the ad is promoting. In this essay an advertisement from Detour whey protein bars will be analyzed. The ad shows a beautiful woman with a sporty physique holding a protein bar. However, the ad is creating "false needs," as women do not need these bars to obtain the physique they want. Advertising also causes over consumption, as most women do not realize that these bars contain a lot of sugar and an over consumption of them without an active lifestyle can lead to weight gain and cause health issues. The ideologies this ad displays to women, signifies that that they need to be slim to be beautiful which is not accurate. Women should be taught to love themselves, and be accepting of whom they are, and that an advertised product can only alter the physical being but not the mental and spiritual part of who they are.
Advertising companies like Detour use narrowcasting to reach a certain demographic. In this specific advertisement, the target audience are adult females who want to get in shape. Detour's advertisement is "attempting to create a relationship between products and potential customers" (Gasher, Skinner & Lorimer, 111). However, the relationship they are attempting to build is creating false needs, as women do not need this product to get into shape. Companies advertise to women to promote "perfection," telling them they are not beautiful because, there is a product that can get rid of the advertised issues. The use of conventional models, in advertising does not promote what a normal person looks like. It is impossible to find a woman who embodies perfection. Detour's advertisement is attempting to showcase that woman can achieve the perfect body by eating their product.
