MEMORANDUM

DATE: December, 1 2016

TO: Mark Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer, Proctor and Gamble

FROM: Molly Stroosma, Assistant Brand Manager, Proctor and Gamble

SUBJECT: Secret Outlast Stress Test #64267 Advertisement

It is with great concern that I would like to bring to your attention the
advertisement Proctor and Gamble placed for the Secret product, Secret
Outlast Xtend deodorant in the October 2016 issue of Cosmopolitan. Hidden
underneath the female empowerment mask this advertisement puts forth, is
a self-image depleting message sent to all women who come in contact with
this advertisement.

The advertisement labeled Stress Test #64267 reads, Graduate top of

your class in robotics. Complete 1,000 pilot hours. Be selected to go to
space. Have people ask how youll cope in space without makeup. Get in
your shuttle. Show them. It also displays a young woman wearing a space
suit with her flawless face pressed up against glass, and a tube of mascara
floating behind her.

The magazine Cosmopolitan is home to beauty, health, and lifestyle articles;

however our recent Secret advertisement suggests that all readers wear
makeup every day.

Stress Test #64267 creates both social and ethical issues within the
consumer realm by forming the stereotypes that all women wear makeup
and that when women are not wearing makeup, they are stressed out. First,
our advertisement is offensive. It suggests that in order to be a woman, one
must wear makeup. This first distaste is demonstrated through the image of
the female in the ad with perfectly polished facial features even though she
is not supposed to be wearing any makeup. Secondly, our advertisement
encourages questionable character traits in readers such as discontent
because the reader may suddenly become unhappy with their self-image.
Lastly, our advertisement creates insecurities such as lack of confidence
about ones physical appearance without makeup in readers and preys on
said insecurities.

Looking at the Ethical Norms and Values for Marketers provided by the AMA, I
noticed that the advertisement violates multiple of the values described by
this association. Stress Test #64267 first violates the value of respect. The
AMA code states, We will value individual differences even as we avoid
stereotyping customers or depicting demographic groups (e.g., gender, race,
sexual orientation) in a negative or dehumanizing way in our promotions,
which was not taken into consideration in our advertisement. Stress Test
#64267 does not leave room for differences in females because of the
stereotype, all women wear makeup present in the advertisement. The tube
of mascara and body copy lines help our advertisement conform to this
stereotype. The other AMA value that Stress Test #64267 violates is
honesty. The AMA code says, We will tell the truth in all situations and at all
times, however, the advertisement is untruthful in its depiction of a woman
who is not wearing makeup because the model used has not a single flaw on
her face. The flawless model used in the advertisement conforms to the
present stereotype that all women wear makeup.

Further, I applied the Consumer Sovereignty Test to our advertisement and

found the following:

---Consumer Capability Our advertisement targets one chronic vulnerable

group. The group targeted is, young females, especially those experiencing
physical and emotional changes that could be affected by the stereotype our
advertisement presents. This specific group, being at a fragile stage should
not be taught that all women wear makeup.

---Information One specific concern arose when I examined the information

dimension of the CST. The consumer lacks knowledge of the overall benefit
of the product and therefore would be unable to make a good decision
regarding the product.

---Choice No infringements on the consumers ability to choose which

deodorant brand they would like to use were found.

To ensure the promotion of this Secret product aligns with our companys
message to improve the lives of our consumers, I offer a few
recommendations to improve the clarity, ethics, and values of the marketing
efforts surrounding, Stress Test #64267.

My recommendation is to exclude the two lines in the body text of the

advertisement that read, Have people ask how youll cope in space without
makeup. This addresses the problem created in targeting the chronically
vulnerable group of young women who encounter this advertisement. By
excluding the makeup aspect, the product itself will not be affected because
makeup and deodorant, though both in the feminine product category, do
not need to be used in conjunction in order for both to work. However, it is
necessary to replace these two body copy lines with others that are not
harmful. My more lighthearted suggestion for the replacement lines is, Have
people ask you how youll cope in space without your beauty sleep, or
without your deodorant. This will make consumers feel more comfortable
about their self-image and will not continue to foster stereotypes that all
females wear makeup and that females who are not wearing makeup are
stressed out.

Even with these suggestions and recommendations I have made, the

underlying skeleton of the ad can stay the same as there are some
respectable pieces to work with.

I hope that we can further examine my findings and analysis and work
together with the entire Proctor and Gamble team to ensure that future
advertisements released by our company do not run into the same ethical
issues of Stress Test #64267. Please contact me if you would like to further
discuss this issue.