The husband is clearly telling his wife she's doing the right thing (serving a good dinner). Her place is in the kitchen and she is to 'perform' well in there. The husband and child sit at the table and eat while the wife caters to their needs. The advertising company uses romance as a selling technique to remind women that they need to be beautiful and sexy in the home while doing her domestic work and chores. The women 'melts' to her husband who seems to be a typical breadwinner husband waiting for his wife to prepare and serve him is daily meal. This ad is one of many that has been 'inspired by the paternalism of the ideology of mass culture' (Hollows 71). Women are hooked on that housewife ideal thanks to mainstream media and our male powered society. The hollows text we have been reading says 'if 'housewives' can be weaned off their addictions to romances and soaps and read feminist books, they may overcome their 'false consciousness' and join with their feminist sisters in the struggle to overthrow patriarchy' (Hollows 71-72). This to me means that if women realize that the romance novels and other romantic fiction they are continuously reading and believing in is actually just a ridiculous ideal then they maybe women will be able to reject typical advertisements directed at making their 'place' one in the home. Advertising compere use romance in their ads to make women's role just like they hear about in the romantic novels. Women readers of the genera haven't been trained to see that romance isn't actually the most important thing in her life But, women are use to reading about happy male dominate families in their novels so when they see advertisements with the same ideals they believe what they are told. This particular commercial would reinforce the stereotypical role of a women as belonging in the home. She is shown as the cook of the dinner, and the one who picked out out the cheese (must have done the grocery shopping). She's in a clean house and the husband is waiting at the table with his child for dinner to be serve. This set up of the family has become 'normal' to society. Romance novels, chick flicks and soap operas have all reinforced this typical role women play. They have used the novels, films and shows as an escape of their daily domestic lives, so when advertising companies use the 'romancing technique' it is easy for women to fall for them. When women don't get to see women dominated activities their imaginations don't allow them to think of better for themselves. The advertising companies has only allowed women's abilities to be recognized in the home(as a cook, cleaner, act). This commercial also demonstrate women must also be sexy and 'melt' for their husbands. That 'melting' look she shows may be suggesting that the husband has the power to 'mold' his wife into the person HE wants her to be. Advertising companies use romance in their ads because half of the work of overpowering a women's mind was done by the chick flicks and romance novels. The companies know that women have been trained to think men are in power and their lives revolve around finding the perfect man and doing whatever necessary to make him happy (she will do all the work in the home). They use this to their advantage and take the 'romancing the roles of women' to another level and include them in food advertisements and household product advertisements. This commercials overall message seems to be if you want to get recognition from your husband (you should want that because romance novels have told you to be happy you need to please your husband) you need to buy our cheese. You will be a happy women if you please your husband with a delicious meal. The woman then becomes sexy for her husband and feels great once the husband says she's done a good job in the kitchen (her place). This advertisement is clearly a great example of how women are tricked to believe they belong in the home.
-Goldilocks
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