In this commercial, however, Coldwater Creek seems to believe that women and girls fall into a certain stereotype. They really had an opportunity to paint a picture of a strong, individual woman seeking her own style; instead, they made it sound like a petty inter-sibling fashion war.
Sure, the images look like girls physically playing ball and chasing each other in the backyard; but the actual monolog about competition between sisters is contemptible from the perspective of this oldest sibling. The speaker apparently competed with her sisters over not sports or skills or even parental affection (which happened in my house), but over the prettiest haircut, the cutest boyfriend, the best-fitting jeans. The highest grades are thrown in there as well, but the majority of the focus is on the girl’s looks and value as a girlfriend rather than a person. “Every day, we’d try to outdo each other,” the speaker insists—but these “outdo each other” moments do not focus on the worth of each girl.
The speaker says you can imagine what life was like in a house with five sisters because of this. Hmm. My mother grew up with five sisters of her own, and while fashion and beauty and boys certainly played a part in it all, I know a lot of it was also about individuality, art, being brave, standing up to a totalitarian father, and even fishing. My mother and her sisters (and brother) were poor, and their lives certainly didn’t revolve around jeans.
Coldwater Creek, I’ve never purchased anything from you, and this is probably why. You don’t seem to “get” girls or women. You think that we are things to dress up and make pretty for cute boys, apparently. We are worth so much more than this. Perhaps your next commercial should focus on that idea rather than this attempt at marketing toward a single sliver of what it means to be female—to some females. I would love to see you market your wares to women who love sports, or lead meetings, or read by a fireplace, or chase toddlers, or any of the other thousands of hats that we wear other than sheer vanity.