Lesson 5:

Look for TV or newspaper advertisements which you think are promoting stereotypes,
prejudice or discrimination. Print this advertisement on a bond paper. Write down an essay
explaining why you think so and how to make the advertisement more inclusive. Based on your
learning, how can you respect people on the basis of their gender without stereotyping them?

SILKA ADVERTISEMENT JOY ADVERTISEMENT

TANDUAY CALENDAR GIRLS DOWNY ADVERTISEMENT

We cannot deny the major influences of mass media with regards to our beliefs to how we live
everyday in a very conservative country like the Philippines. Prejudices and various discrimination
have been an issue for so many decades now and one the cues that serves as a fuel and has been
adding to the fire are the biased advertisement that are very exclusive and discriminatory to certain
populations in our society most especially to women.
One of the many advertisements that I find really discriminatory is the very popular dishwashing
liquid—JOY. The dishwashing liquid have been advertised for so many years now and if we watch
the advertisement video, someone who isn’t meticulous enough would say that it is just a normal
ad, with a mother who is the main star and washing the dishes using the product. Another
advertisement is the very popular whitening soap, the Silka, that have been a consumer’s soap
preferences. However, for the past years, the model of the said product are the popular actresses
who have already fair skins. Third is the yearly calendar release of a very popular alcohol in the
country which is the Tanduay. Every year, they only release a calendar with a female model wearing
a bikini or sometimes, too much revealing clothes. Lastly, the downy advertisement where you can
watch another mother who is doing laundry and using the product as a fabric softener.
The question is what is the problem of the said advertisements and why is so hard for people
especially the very conscious one to just not act normal about it?
For the record, the joy and downy advertisement has been unconsciously promoting that house
chores are only for women given that the society is only aware that these kind of gender roles are
only specifically for women, who are supposedly to be a caring wife and a caring mother who stays
at home and do house chores. Furthermore, I personally think that it also creates unwanted
prejudices for husbands who stays at home that do the same things because male by society’s
definition is supposedly the provider in the family and not someone who should be staying in the
house.
The silka advertisement has been projecting women to look white instead of loving their own color
because becoming fair the shity beauty standard of the Philippines for so many years now.
Whitening soaps also creates an idea for people that being ‘morena’ and ‘maitim’ isn’t considered
beautiful in the country and as a result, many men, women and LGBTQ+ members have been
bullied for their color and gave them thoughts that they are not beautiful enough in their own eyes.
It is also very ironic that they use fair models while advertising whitening soaps, which adds more
to the drama.
Another is the calendar girls of Tanduay Corporation. Now, the bikinis ad revealing clothes was
never the issue for this matter but the thought that company creates more idea for the society to
objectify women especially that the country is very conservative to the main idea of it. It also
doesn’t help that they only use female models instead of using all genders to somehow justify that
their objectives and purpose are clean.
These advertisements, we cannot argue, are also mere result of our poor understanding to the reality
with the influence of culture, tradition and other major societal institutions. However, it isn’t a
justification that we stop finding truths and remain ignorant about this kind of situation. We
shouldn’t stop by just educating ourselves, but also learn how to accept the diversity that we have
and instead of stereotyping, discriminating and being biased, we must find the very reason to act
united, addressing issues and for once, stop pointing out who is the real culprit of these ideas.