Pantente Advertisement Controversy

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After the release of Pantene’s “Not Sorry” ad in June, it led to the condemning of apology and women along with it (Garber, 2014). The campaign surprisingly did not spur controversy. Rather, it called attention to women’s overuse of apology and further analysis to answer the question “Why are women always apologizing?” While some research regarding apology and gender had already been conducted before this ad campaign launched, it still sparked large interest in calling for change, especially in today’s society. Many magazines and newspapers responded to the ad in the opinion or living sections with the realization that women should stop apologizing. Thus, the campaign has had a huge impact on the empowerment of women, encouraging them to stop …show more content…

This was launched in an effort to help women all over the world to believe in themselves and encourage them to be strong and shine. Because of the overwhelming positive response to the ad campaign, Pantene carried out this fund to inspire action and change (“Pantene,” 2014). Overall, the campaign has been successful in calling for a change, as many people have responded with challenging women to stop apologizing. As a result, many women have started to realize the incessant number of times they apologize just for being how they are. Therefore, they have become empowered by the message of the ad to be strong and shine, both on the inside and the …show more content…

She describes leaning in as being ambitious in any pursuit (Sandberg, 2013, p. 10). Sandberg recognizes that women not only face standards set by society but also those that exist within themselves, which is depicted in the Pantene ad. She explains that women hold themselves back with lack of self-confidence, resistance to raising their hands and pulling back when they should be leaning in (Sandberg, 2013, p. 8). Again, the ad clearly illustrates the difference between women holding back and leaning in during the same situations. For example, the meeting scene shows a woman saying sorry before asking a “stupid” question. This represents Sandberg’s idea that women hold themselves back. Later in the ad, the same scene is shown with the woman being assertive and confidently stating her question as a suggestion. Thus, the scene exemplifies Sandberg’s leaning in logic that women should step forward and have their voice heard. The choice to focus on highlighting this difference in the video itself already makes an impact. Therefore, this is an effective response to the genderlect theory because it identifies women’s use of language and shows how they can easily change one aspect in an effort to bridge the communication

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