Pantene Commercial

This pantene commercial played on multiple stereotypes and cliches. For instance, young high school girls were dipicted as cruel, cat-like rich bullies who preyed on the poor and different. The butterfly image seemed to be more of a girly stereotype. There also was stress on how Asians seem to be focused on higher classical teachings, such as playing the violin and piano intensely,and perfecting them.

All these stereotypes and cliches are used to captivate the audience. Because such cliches are well known and even widely accepted, the viewer easily buys into what the commercial is telling us without much thought. We're fed a story that is full of stereotypes that we have seen so many times, we hardly notice it. The stereotypes help develope a story that we already feel we know: the poor, handicapped girl defeats the brutaly desperate and rivalrous rich girl because she worked hard and deserved it (good wins over bad).

Obviously, these stereotypes are far from reality: being Asian doesn't make you a good music player and being rich doesn't make you a bad person. The commercial just demonstrates how people have preconceived notions about the way people are and the way stories should unfold. The commercial sells us an image that is easy to understand and follow because it is one that is heard over and over and over again.