I’m never exactly sure how to feel about this kind of video that expresses a message I completely agree with (that your worth is not determined by your external appearance) but are produced in order to sell a product (that enhances your external appearance, no less).
Behind every materialistic desire is a spiritual longing.
On the one hand:
This advertisement is reminding you of your soul’s deep longing to express and value itself authentically – it’s getting you in touch with that which you have forgotten – AND THEN pulling a bait and switch at the end and telling you that the way to truly embody your soul’s earnest wish to be who you really are because you’re worth it – is to buy some shampoo or makeup or whatever.
But on the other hand:
The message is true and Kate Winslet gives a glorious performance. But don’t pretend you don’t know that everyone is selling something.
I sell. You sell. We’re all selling something.
To sell is human. L’Oreal is just being who/what it authentically is. A seller of cosmetics. And isn’t it a good thing that instead of a surface level advertisement that promotes vanity and insecurity, they are reaching for something deeper?
It’s like the picture of the candlestick or the two faces – no even better – the one with the young or old woman.
You could look at it both ways.
To sum up the question:
Is an authentic message weakened when it is expressed through inauthentic means?
Or can the light of a truly authentic message in fact elevate and redeem the less authentic means?
