Having It All -- or, at Least, All the Chicken

Here's the latest in Target's idealization of women campaign.

The model "Mom" -- who is obviously part of the yummy mommy trend -- manages to dress herself and baby in Target coordinated colors. (In case you can't tell from my bad photo, her necklace is red, which makes it pop out from her neutral-colored suit and white blouse.)

Yes, she can have it all.


Having been at a photo shoot with a baby, I can imagine how this shoot went. Standing beside the photographer is mom or dad, making sure baby looks at the camera. Probably, the parent has a toy, and may even be holding the toy up on a stick to make sure baby keeps the old chin up. There's likely to be a minor parade of babies arriving for the shoot in case one or another doesn't work out.

The background repetition of the identical spaghetti and chicken breast plates is interesting. It reminds me of a piece at the Walker Art Center featuring eyes of varying sizes at intervals on a white wall. But it also makes me think of the monotony of SuperMom's diet -- plain chicken breasts alternating with pasta. Is that all they sell at SuperTarget?

I'm not entirely sure why this ad (and the earlier one) pushes my buttons. Women are idealized in all sorts of ads.

I think it's because these ads try to portray an image of modern domesticity that is both entirely false and completely defined by consuming, intimating that Target plays a significant role in these women's lives.

I'll have to think about this some more.