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Tropicana uses female stereotypes for its latest campaign

Imagine if you will, that you’re the brand manager for Tropicana Orange Juice. You need to promote the new-and-improved “Easy Pour Pitcher” (because pouring orange juice has always been quite difficult). The benefits are that the container is convenient and appealing and, well, easy. And if you can compare it to a less easy-to-pour container like, say, Simply Orange or Minute Maid or your own brand’s cartons, so much the better.

The ad agency presents its concepts, but one in particular grabs your mind and heart because it’s Just So Right. The perfect image of prettiness and easiness: a little girl.

I am SO not kidding. Here’s the payoff page.

My thoughts seem to be taking the form of words I can’t say here, so I’ll let the Sociological Images site say it for me:

Notice how easyness [sic] is communicated with symbols of femininity. The message is that girls are, ideally, accommodating and passive. Girls should be like objects, easy to “handle.”

Yep. I mean, even without the label of “easy,” the contrast of the active, opinionated, pants-wearing girl and the passive, smiling, dress-wearing girl is the epitome of sexist stereotyping.

One thing about the ad is quite appropriate, though. The easy pour carton contains, according to the coupon, 89 oz. Those pitchers usually are 96 oz., aren’t they? So as easy to handle as the sweet and passive little girl may be, she ends up with less substance. Now that’s a concept I can embrace.

I can hardly wait to hear what you have to say about this ad.

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