Questions a social scientist would ask

SCS 100 Theme 1: Comparison Template
Ad 1: How clean are your bathrooms

Ad 2: 1960 Carmel “Where A Man Belongs”

Ad 3: Colgate "Sink Child"

Ad 4: Tide Plus A Touch of Downy The Princess Dress

1. Question(s) related to how individuals are represented in the ads

Why is the “African American Male” wearing a mask on his face?

Why are the individuals dressed as if this is a crime scene?

Why is there only one lady and two men?

Why is this man made to appear rough and rugged as opposed to sophisticated and clean cut? Why is the man older aged and white?

Why is The person using The lantern To light his cigarette?

Why is the Asian girl on the bottom?

Why are both individual’s girls?

Why does the teenage girl leave the water on?

Why is There only a father figure being shown?

Why is the daughter shown more feminine while dressed as a sheriff rather than when she is in The princess dress?

2. Questions related to how groups and group behavior are represented in the ad

Why does everyone look so serious?

Why did they tag the bathroom with labels?

Were white men the only ones to smoke Camels during the 70’s?

Why is there only one male?

Why is the young girl on the bottom all alone in on a desert in this ad?

Why did they decide to use two teen girls in this ad?

Why is the little girl dressed in different costumes?

Why is she wearing a stain or dirty princess dress for a week?

3. Questions related to how culture and cultural identity are represented (or not represented) in the ad

Why is there only one black man in this ad?

Why is there more white men in this ad?

Why is there only one woman in this ad?

Does this ad means that white men know more about cleaning bathrooms than others?

Does this ad means that only white men could smoke camels during the 60’s and 70’s?

Why didn’t they put a black man and a white man together smoking a camel?

How would this ad be perceived from the Vietnamese culture?

Why didn’t they use a white girl for the bottom as well?

Why didn’t they use a black father in the house with his daughter?

Why was the mother not in the ad with the father?

4. How do the ads compare to each other?

The ads that I’ve chosen promotes human beings to become better advocates for health, cleanliness for the next generation. Ad 1, 2, 3, show more white males than in other ethnic group. Ad 2, 4 show uncleanness and unhealthiness.

5. What overall observations might a social scientist be interested in studying in relation to the themes present in these advertisements?

What larger questions about human interactions might they ask?

Social scientist would likely be interested in how in the Colgate” sink girl ad the bottom girl in the desert survived without water.

Did she ever get help from anyone? Did she find any water?

Why is she by herself in the desert?

How did she get there?

Does she have a family or is she the last one left due to dehydration?

Do advertisers deliberately try to create a divide between race and gender, by treating other race of men weaker and showcasing white men with a dominant, superior complex? What impact do each of these ads have on the self-esteem of men, women or children in the region they were created for? Do people of other cultures and regions feel similarly?