A Psychoanalytic Analysis of Olay Total Effects - Essay Example

? Fear and fantasy: a psychoanalytic analysis of “Olay Total Effects” advertisement 25 July One of the main appeals of advertising is that it strives to connect to people’s unmet needs and wants. Advertisements seek to inform and to persuade people of the benefits or effectiveness of their products and services that the latter need or desire. In the TV commercial of “Olay Total Effects,” Thandie Newton informs the viewers that in skin care, she chooses only one product that can remedy her skin problem of ageing. It offers seven age- defying effects in just one cream. Psychoanalysis offers concepts that can explore feelings of fear and fantasy, which are present in numerous modern-day advertisements, especially those concerning beauty and ageing. The goal of this paper is to critically analyse how Newton’s TV ad appeals to its contemporary consumers through fear and fantasy symbols and suggestions. The framework of psychoanalysis will be used to interpret the meaning of this advertisement to target market segments. This advertisement uses fear and fantasy to respond to the unconscious desires of killing the ageing self, repressing sadism, and pursuing role reversal, and the conscious desires of being young and beautiful again, because of its underlying sexual and power benefits. One of the most powerful unconscious desires concerns violence, which in the advertisement’s case, refers to self-harming the ageing self. Freud's theories of aggression were multifaceted and evolved all through his lifetime. He first saw aggression as part of the sexual instinct that drives the “service of mastery” (Freud, 1905 cited in Yakeley and Meloy 2012, p.231), but afterwards, he believed that aggression constitutes a reaction to both internal and external risks, such as loss, and promotes self-preservation (Freud 191 cited in Yakeley and Meloy 2012, p.231). In 1920, Freud turned aggression into an instinct, called the “death instinct,” a force that works surreptitiously at every aspect of an organism and results to the repetition compulsion; the death instinct is also included into a component of the superego “as unconscious guilt” (cited in Yakeley and Meloy 2012, p.231). In Newton’s “Olay Total Effects” TV ad, she is already in her late thirties, but she wants to remain young-looking. It indicates the subconscious hatred to be old, because to be old means being left behind, losing one’s social connections, and feeling weak, helpless, and unneeded. In the article, “When the Glass Is Full,” Bolgar (2002) talked about Erikson’s stages of human life, where old age is characterised as a struggle between “integrity” and “despair” (p.640). He believed that during this time, anxiety is based on “transference” or “resistance” to ageing (p.642). The resistance can be so fierce that negative emotions are attributed to the aspect of growing old. The “Olay Total Effects” ad maintains that old age is something people do not have to embrace in the physical sense. The signs of old ageing, it suggests, are repulsive, and the only way to preserve life’s beauty is to remain young-looking through using its product. Ageing is the first stage before dying, and so striving to look young as long as possible is critical to killing the ageing self. Looking youthful makes people feel less vulnerable to death. It seems that they are delaying the inevitability of their mortality. The compulsion is to use age-defying products, so that women can resist ageing. Newton’s Olay ad promises the fountain of youth. If Newton can kill the ageing self, then other consumers can also do this, without feeling guilty about it. The ad is saying that its product is the answer, or more specifically, the acceptable answer to the fear of ageing. They cannot harm themselves to fight the signs of growing old. Their anger can be diffused through doing something about their fear of ageing; this can be attained through decreasing its signs. This ad asserts that it can offer something comprehensive to such a complex fear, because it addresses the seven signs of aging. The death instinct can be stopped through feeding the fantasy of power, where youth is viewed as a source of power, which in turn, is critical to the process of self-preservation. In “The Role of Sexuality in Sadism: Object Relations and Drive Theory Perspectives,” Juni (2009) examined the sexual elements of sadism. He argued that the sexual elements of sadism are defined within the backgrounds of diverse kinds of sadism. In aggression-drive sadism, Juni (2009) stressed that sexuality is a simplification of instinctual reactivity, where aggression and oral impulses spill on one another. The “Olay Total Effects” ad shows the need to repress the anger toward the reality of growing old. Ageing is evident in the skin, especially facial features. Wrinkles and sagging skin are signs that cannot be overlooked. Instead of hating one’s physical identity, the product promises the realisation of youth. It is confident that it can fulfil this function for its users. Newton compares finding the best facial regime creams to selecting the best clothing and style. In psychoanalysis, the ad offers a less sadistic alternative, where killing the ageing process concerns using its product. Another point is that sadism can be controlled through other actions of self-preservation. Menninger believed in the existence of “early unconscious murderous fantasies,” but he asserted that the ego's homeostatic properties will induce the “service of self-preservation” (cited in Yakeley and Meloy 2012, p.231). He was also the first to assert that violence has meaning, specifically in fighting “psychic disintegration” (Menninger 1963 cited in Yakeley and Meloy 2012, p.231). Newton’s ad promotes self-preservation, because it curbs anger against oneself. It reduces anxiety and frustration, because something can be done about it. The product seeks to ensure the homeostasis of the human psyche by providing an option of staying young. Growing old can be nullified through gender role reversal. In “C.G. Jung and the Psychology of Adult Development,” Moraglia (1994) used Jung’s hypothesis on the second half of people’s life. Jung claimed that as men and women enter their midlife stage, gender role reversals occur (Moraglia 1994, p.59). Men have depleted their “masculine substance” throughout their youth and revert to their “feminine substance” to sustain their needs; women, on the other hand, experience the reverse, because they want to respond to their aggressive, masculine impulses (Moraglia 1994, p.59). But since aggressive women are not acceptable for numerous societies, they have to be content with accessing power within gender norms. In particular, they can assert their matriarchy through maximising the power of their gender. This ad uses an attractive and independent-looking model in the persona of Newton. She represents strength, beauty, and femininity. She makes independent decisions, which makes her an empowered woman. At the same time, Newton knows that beauty and youth are sources of power, so she maintains them through using Olay Total Effects. The ad responds to underlying fantasy for a matriarchal society, where women engage power through their looks and sex. This ad stimulates conscious desires; the id wants its urges to be satisfied immediately, and if it desires eternal youth, it wants instant answers. This ad promises fast and wide-ranging results. As mentioned, it does not only cleanse or moisturise the face, because it does seven important actions on women’s skin. Time is of the essence in being young again. In the ad, Newton brushes away so many facial creams, as if women need them all in one sitting. The effect is simplicity in making choices. “Olay Total Effects” wants to be the total solution, to not just skincare, but to regaining one’s fading youthful looks. In addition, the fantasy of eternal youth requires speed. Convenience is important, for the id hates to wait. For instant gratification, this beauty product offers a one-touch solution to ageing. The fantasy is completed when the image of the beautiful Thandie Newton is shown repeatedly. This is the face of everlasting youth- not girly looking, not matronly, but powerful, sexy, and attractive. Newton smiles with confidence too and this is part of being young. Youth means energy and confidence, and this ad aims to provide that feeling to its users. Hence, it is a facial cream that evokes the fantasy of eternal youth. Youth and beauty are intertwined in the “Olay Total Effects” ad, where self-preservation is critical. Glover, in his influential work, The Roots of Crime (1960), examined psychopathic and delinquent behaviour in his work at the Portman Clinic (cited in Yakeley and Meloy 2012, p.231). He differentiated primary aggression, as connected with libidinal energy and produced sadism, from reactive aggression, which was significantly connected to hate and angst (cited in Yakeley and Meloy 2012, p.231). Hate and anxiety trouble some women, who feel that ageing means being less attractive to others. They are frustrated when they see large pores and fine lines around their eyes. They want to remain as beautiful as they were in their early twenties. Newton’s ad aspires to be a beauty expert. It suggests that by turning the hands of time, beauty can be attained once more. Or, it can enhance beauty that users do not normally have. The repeated images of Newton have a dreamy quality. They signify the enduring fantasy of eternal beauty that some women want to constantly pursue. Narcissism is an aspect of eternal beauty. Cheliotis (2011) studied the interrelationship between violence and narcissism in “Violence and Narcissism: A Frommian Perspective on Destructiveness under Authoritarianism.” Primary narcissism, said Freud, happens “when the libido is exclusively directed to the self” (cited in Cheliotis 2011, p.345). Infants, in an example of an ideal-typical case, are born with the fantasy that the entire universe revolves around them (Cheliotis 2011, p.345). In the “Olay Total Effects” ad, Newton demonstrates narcissistic attitudes, because of her emphasis on her physical looks. The ad emphasises the choices needed to stay young, as if that is the most important choice of all. In a sense, this ad responds to the narcissistic need to be young, so that users will get the attention they need from others. In other words, the ad is also showing that if women want to be noticed, they have to look young and beautiful all the time. The old and unattractive cannot possibly hope to see the word revolving around them. Moreover, even when the ad did not include a romance angle; this ad can be connected to romantic narcissism. In “The Romantic Fantasy and its Vicissitudes,” Togashi (2008) explored the effects of romantic fantasy. He argues that “[r]omance is intrinsically narcissistic,” because people want to be special to someone else and they want to feel special too (p.241). Newton’s ad underlines the special feeling of being young once more. Evidently, being young and beautiful can catch people’s eyes. If the users of this product are looking for a partner or a date, they can think of the product as a means of achieving narcissistic ends. Hence, this skin product ad also supports narcissistic views. On the one hand, the “Olay Total Effects” ad can be criticised as promoting sexist and ageist ideals. Women are portrayed as concentrated on superficial needs, especially physical and sexual attractiveness. They crave the male gaze and participate in the male fantasy as a sexual object. On the other hand, this ad can also be a projection of the female gaze. It does not emphasise that Newton wants to remain beautiful and young to attract the opposite sex. The ad does not show adoring gazes of men. Instead, Newton exemplifies the power of making the right choices as an independent woman. This section discusses the male and female gazes. The use of age-defying creams support the male gaze, because it subjects women to the status of being the object of sexual fantasy. In the decisive article, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” Laura Mulvey referred to gaze as the pleasure that one gets in looking at an object, often the body of people. In contrast to the Freudian thought of gaze, Mulvey (1992, p. 27) suggested that the media had resorted to objectifying the female characters, because of the promotion of voyeurism on their physical body. Mulvey (1992) stressed that the society is divided between how the male and female gain pleasure in spectatorship. For Mulvey (1992, p. 27), the male gaze is active, whereas the female gaze is passive. The male gaze is active in the sense that it can be regarded as controlling subjects through their eyes, while women are the passive objectified entity. Women serve as objects of men’s sexual desire through exposing their bodies to them (Mulvey 1992, p. 33). In connection to the TV ad of Olay, the male gaze is evoked through removing the wrinkled, dark, rough, bigger pored, uneven skin tone and dry skin of women. These are ageing signs that are unattractive to men. Newton is the ideal beauty, one that fits the demand of the male gaze. She looks alluring and youthful, despite her mature age. She becomes a passive object for male consumption. While the male gaze is implied in the ad, the female gaze can also be argued as more compelling. Women in their thirties and beyond are believed to be more mature in thinking. They may want to look beautiful, but no longer to be passive sex objects for men. Instead, through gender role reversal, they want to be aggressive in choosing and asserting their needs and desires (Moraglia 1994, p.59). The idea is that Newton’s ad evokes the female gaze, where the fantasy is about sexual empowerment. The male gaze is not an active component of this ad, because Newton does not have any suitors, or she does not focus on being looked at by men. Women, in this case, want to be young and beautiful, not because they crave for sexual relations, but because they fantasise for unending source of power. They realise that beauty and youth are power, so they will use it to attain their ends. Their ends may be social, economic, sexual, cultural, or political, but in essence, they want to be the one in power, not the men. They want to be able to look in the mirror, like Newton can, and say: “This is the face of a powerful woman.” Advertisements sometimes speak to the innermost and unspeakable fantasies and anxieties of people. The TV ad of Olay Total Effects plays on the fantasy and fears of women in their 30s and beyond. These are women who want control, beauty, and youth. This ad wants to make its target audience feel that its product is the answer to their fantasies, and that it will allay their fears. It represents a metaphor for the fountain of youth and power; the complete solution to the subconscious needs of women, who are struggling to control their id and to express their sexual and violent desires in healthy ways. Reference List Bolgar, H., 2002. When the glass is full. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 22 (4), pp. 640-652. Cheliotis, L.K., 2011. Violence and narcissism: a Frommian perspective on destructiveness under authoritarianism. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 36 (4), pp. 337-360. Juni, S., 2009. The role of sexuality in sadism: object relations and drive theory perspectives. American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 69 (4), pp.314-329. MacRury, I., 2009. Advertising. Oxon: Routledge. Moraglia, G., 1994. C.G. Jung and the psychology of adult development. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 39 (1), pp. 55-75. Mulvey, L. 1992. Visual pleasure and narrative cinema. In: Caughie et al., eds. The sexual subject: a screen subject reader in sexuality. London: Routledge, pp. 22-34. Togashi, K., 2008. The romantic fantasy and its vicissitudes: a self psychological reconsideration of “hysterical fantasy” and the eroticized transference. International Forum of Psychoanalysis, 17 (4), pp.240-248. Yahya, W.R.W., Rahman, E.A., and Zainal, Z.I., 2010. Male gaze, pornography and the fetishised female. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 5 (1), pp. 25-38. Yakeley, J. and Meloy, J.R., 2012. Understanding violence: does psychoanalytic thinking matter? Aggression & Violent Behavior, 17 (3), pp. 229-39. Read More