Abstract:
This objective of this study is to compare and analyze how forms of female beauty were approached in the Spring / Summer 2018 campaigns on the Facebook pages of the clothing retailer C&A, in Brazil and Portugal. The key question is to understand how the company approached female beauty for the female audience, which included women and people who identify themselves as female, in both countries. The method of analysis is exploratory, qualitative, and quantitative, and applied content analysis to images used in the selected campaigns, and categorized elements to help compare them. The results of the study show that the company subtly sought to represent a diversity of different forms of female beauty although it has not yet presented a more evident inclusion of this representativeness.
Key words:
Advertising; Female beauty; Representativeness; Facebook; C&A
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Source: C&A (2018d). All of the images used in this article were produced by C&A for advertising purposes and are addressed in this article solely for the purpose of scientific academic analysis, according to C&A’s General Terms and Conditions and Policy for Open Resolution (2018f).#FortheWorldtoSee: Four women in spring dresses walk together side by side on a street with flowers in the surroundings. They are smiling and appear to be happy to be together. From left to right, the first is a black woman, the second is white, a bit taller and appears to older, the third is white, with brown hair and a curvier body, and the fourth is a white woman, with blonde hair, and a thinner body.
Source: C&A (2018c).#FortheWorldtoSee: Three women are in bathing suits in front of a pool, with the sea in the background. From left to right: the first woman is white, with blonde hair and a black bikini, with a top that covers her décolletage. The second woman is white, with light hair, she appears to be a bit older and is using a blue bikini with a print kaftan above. The third and last is a white woman, with blond hair, using a print bikini and dark glasses.
Source: C&A (2018b).#FortheWorldtoSee: Four women are walking together side by side on a street in an urban environment, with trees to the left and buildings to the right. From left to right: the first woman is white, with blond hair, and is using a cap, she has a cotton jersey and a spring skirt; the second woman is black, is using a strapless top, jeans and an open jacket; the third is a white woman, taller, with a floral dress with a jean jacket on top; the fourth is a black woman, with flowery pants, a blouse, a scarf and a jeans jacket.
Source: C&A (2018e).#FortheWorldtoSee: Two women are on a beach, leaning against a lifeguard stand. From left to right: the first has Asian characteristics, uses a jumper with vertical stripes; the second is a white woman, who is using a jumper with a floral print with a bow in the décolletage region.
Source: C&A (2018a).#FortheWorldtoSee: The photo is composed of a montage divided in five parts with five different female models. From left to right: the first is a brown woman using a bikini and a long beach cover-up and is standing on a boat holding a cord with her right hand. The second is a white woman with long hair and is seated in the sand, with the sea behind. She is resting her elbows on her knees and her two hands on the left side of her face. The third is a white woman using a long skirt and a horizontally striped top, leaning on wooden drums, with the sea in the background. The fourth is a white woman in a bikini, who seems to be getting out of a pool, supported with her two hands on a wooden structure. The fifth is a white woman, using a one-piece bathing suit with a spotted print, a cap and a short cover-up, holding on to a ladder in the sand, with the sea in the background.
Figure 6Source: C&A, 2019d#FortheWorldtoSee: Two women are standing in front of a panel on which is written: ‘Summer Sun and Beach’. From left to right: the first is a black woman, using a black one-piece bathing suit, with a short black cover-up with white polka dots; the second is a white woman using a print, one-piece bathing suit, with her left hand on her waist.