Herbal Essences created this ad about Herbal Essence Color Me Happy hair products. The target audience is white girls from 16 to early 20’s with blonde hair. They could be in the middle class or even lower because this isn’t a very expensive line of hair products. The text on the ad says, “May your blonde hair look like you have Swedish parents.” The text of the message is if you use this product it will make you look like you are Swedish. There are other words in the bottom right corner that says, “Be luscious.” The girl looks like she has a perfect life. She is pretty with blonde hair. Her life looks glamorized because she looks like she is ready to go skiing down a mountain, with her big puffy vest and turtle neck. However she has no sleeves on.

In the article they use many tools of persuasion. They use the big lie by saying if you use this product you will look like you have Swedish parents. They also use flattery. They are trying to make people feel good about themselves by telling them they will be pretty. The last and final tool they use is beautiful people. They use a gorgeous blonde model, knowing that any girl that sees a good-looking person in an ad will want to look like them.

There aren’t any healthy messages in this ad. There are a few unhealthy messages: beauty is the only thing that matters, and having Swedish parents is important. There are a few details left out. Why is she dressed like she’s ready to go skiing in the Swiss-Alps, but has no sleeves? Why does she have to be blonde? Why are Swedish parents so important and what do they look like?

The people creating this ad know most teenage girls like to look like the people in the ads. They don’t realize they would be driving away a good chunk of young girls that don’t have blonde hair. This is the biggest problem with the ad. Don’t they realize that color treated hair can be any color and not just blonde? Girls with brown, black, red, and any other color of the rainbow probably won’t even bother looking at this ad because it features the typical blonde haired “perfect” girl.

There are a few things in the story that aren’t even told which are a pretty big deal. One thing is where can you buy the product? It’s going to be hard for people to use it if they don’t know where to get it. Another thing is how much does the product cost?

This ad just proves you shouldn’t always believe what is in the ad and get the true facts. Don’t buy a product because you want to look like the person in it, because it won’t happen.