Aussie #DitchTheDrama Television Ad Controversial or Just Funny?

Aussie recently released a television ad about girls’ hair drama. In the ad a guy dresses as a girl and goes through different scenarios where he expresses his obsession over maintaining his hairstyle. As a girl, I felt the ad really touched on, in an exaggerated manner, how I think girls deal with their hair. The ad was not only funny, but it portrayed hair problems in a light, fun, and engaging way. In my opinion, the ad showed how ridiculous hair problems can be while also promoting how the Aussie products can help. The sequence of the scenes, specifically the point where the actor is talking about his curling iron are done in a way that pleasantly builds up to the ending. At the end of the ad a woman is shown actively participating in volleyball without caring about the state of her hair because she had used Aussie products.

(Link to the ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-igSlC7oD4 )

One of the criticisms that came with the release of the ad was consumers saying that the ad negatively depicted transgender individuals. Some consumers have said they are offended because they believe the actor is depicting a transsexual, while others are defending the ad saying it is not offensive to transgender individuals. 

In my opinion, the only parts of the ad that need improved are the music that plays at the end of the ad and the colors and décor used in the ad. The music seemed dated, the colors could have been more muted, and there needed to be more “white space”. Some of the outfits that the actor wore distracted me from his hair, and all of the props and design of each scene could have been cut back so as to focus more on the actor’s hair issues. However, this is not to say that the ad was poorly developed. In fact, the concept and construction of the piece was creative.

Aussie. (2015, Jan. 20). Sh*t Girls Say About Hair #DitchTheDrama. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-igSlC7oD4