Looking back at the original product, competitors and other print ads used marketing tactics that not only helped sell the product, but also reinforced societal and gender expectations. Advertisements marketed these products not just as hairstyling tools but also as an essential multitasking tool for maintaining a woman’s appearance, aligning with ideas of femininity.

A womans self worth is associated with feminine mystique. According to feminist scholars, advertising often taught women how to “live out this [feminine] mystique by buying products that would enhance role performance in daily life” (Stern 1992, 14). The ads are being analyzed to see how ads for hair setting products perpetuate beauty standards and social expectations that tied a womans self worth to maintaining a perfect appearance.

 

Kindness 20

Competitors like the Kindness 20 used similar marketing terms and tactics. The Kindness 20 catalogue advertisement emphasized speed, ease of use, and safety. Using phrases like heating up in “less than 10 minutes” and requiring “no water or lotion.” This made it seem like an efficient solution for achieving salon-quality hair at home. This reinforced the societal idea that women should be able to manage their hair quickly and effortlessly (Eaton’s 1969, 317).




 

The Clairol 2-Minute Hair Setter

The Clairol 2-Minute Hair Setter also focused on speed and ease of use as its selling points. The packaging showed step-by-step instructions, which reinforced the idea that the product was easy to use. Also emphasizing safety by saying that the rollers were “not too hot to the touch.” The packaging shows a voluminous, curled hairstyle, which reinforces the beauty standards of the time (Esty n.d).



 

Rayette Cinderella Electric Hair-Setter

In addition to these competitors, the Rayette Cinderella Electric Hair-Setter ad shows various hairstyles, and text that suggests how quickly women could change their hairstyle between daily activities, emphasizing speed and ease of use. This ad also emphasises speed and convenience marketing showing how quickly you can change your hairstyle (Retro Adverto 2012).







 

Clairol Kindness Ad

Another interesting advertisement is the Clairol Kindness from the 1960s. It was a print ad from the United States, that uses a distinctive approach by featuring a woman with curlers, paired with the phrase “men can’t love a head full of curlers,” suggesting that the image of a woman with curlers in her hair is unattractive (eBay n.d). The ad reflects the societal pressures women face to maintain a certain appearance, particularly in terms of beauty and femininity.






 

Miss Carol Ad

The Miss Carol ad from Chatelaine engages with the beauty standards of the time but presents a slightly different angle. The image shows the ad, which emphasizes the youthful appearance of women, even those who are mothers. The slogan “Does She or Doesn’t She?” suggests that the woman’s well-maintained hair might not be as effortless as it appears, reinforcing the idea that beauty standards extend into motherhood (Chatelaine 1961).

Molyneux interprets the slogan as a tension between a woman’s maternal and sexualized roles in the 1960s. She argues that the ad depicts the woman not only as a maternal figures but also as a sexualized temptress'. This reflects a broader social expectation that women must be nurturing mothers but also maintain their appearance. The ad shows a narrow view of femininity, but according to Molyneux it also empowers women, giving them the agency to take control of their beauty at home (Molyneux 2002, 126-132). 

 

Feminist scholars mention “advertisements are... considered one of the most influential means of colonization in that they are wrought for mass audiences, are simple to understand, and are accessible to nearly everyone in the invaded culture" (Stern 1992, 11). These advertisements focus on selling convenience, speed, and ease of use to consumers. While reinforcing societal gender roles, positioning women’s appearance as a reflection of their value and suggesting that maintaining beauty requires constant effort. 

By examining advertisements for hair-setting products like the Kindness 20, Clairol 2-Minute Hair Setter, Rayette Cinderella Electric Hair-Setter, Clairol Kindness and Miss Carol, it is evident that these marketing tactics reinforced beauty standards tied to femininity. These products were marketed not just as tools for hairstyling, but as essential for maintaining a woman’s appearance. Reinforcing the idea that women’s worth was tied to their physical appearance, and maintaining beauty had to be quick, easy, and constant. These ads played a significant role in shaping and reinforcing the societal pressures women faced to live up to these beauty standards.