CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the introduction of the research. It consists of

background of the research, statement of problems, research purposes, research

significances, definitions of key terms and organization of writing.

1.1. Background of The Problem

Advertisement is an information about goods or services that are sold and

aimed to the general public. Advertisement has many forms such as texts,

pictures, video and have evolved to become a crucial feature of the app

marketplace. In this modern era, advertisement is something familiar and become

an important thing in marketing. Advertisement has been known since the days of

ancient Greece where at that time advertisement were used to notify slaves who

had run away from their masters. In this time, advertisement not only be delivered

through newspapers or radio, but also can be delivered through television,

internet, marketing applications and even social media which are often used by

many people. Advertising has a function to build awareness, increase efficiency,

validate, open the way, create understanding (Kotler, 1992). It is why

advertisement is needed as a form of marketing promotion in a company to offer

their own product.

Advertisement develops rapidly and can be found everywhere. Not only on

television, radio and newspapers, but when we are driving on the road there are

usually advertisements displayed via billboards or banners. It makes

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advertisement creators compete to create an advertisement that is as attractive,

unique and creative as possible, in which there is information needed by

consumers. In the advertisement, there is also an advertisement script which

determines how consumers perceive the advertised product. Advertising also

plays a major role in determining trends and models even forming awareness and

construction of human thinking. The use of symbols that attract attention in an

advertisement to influence audiences and these symbols can also be translated

well and can influence the audience (Bungin, 2008). Therefore, a product

advertisement has its own symbol which then becomes the identity of the product

so that it can be easily remembered by the public. Thus, it is not surprising that

currently many companies or sellers are competing to make their advertisements

look attractive. This proves that advertising is very important in the field of

marketing because most people see the advertisement first before they finally buy

the product. And nowadays many people are promoting their products through

advertisements on social media.

Social media is one of the platforms used for advertising. As we know, social

media has a great influence on society because almost everyone uses social media

today. The influence here is about public opinion. Social media can influence

public opinion in responding to news, posts, or anything on social media.

Instagram is one of the most popular social media today. Instagram is an

application for sharing or taking photos and videos. The number of Instagram

users is reported have one billion active users in June 2018. Even in 2020, the

number of Instagram users increase to be more than 1.1 billion (Setyastuti &

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Sunuantari, 2021). Instagram is most popular social media platforms. Indonesia is

one of countries with the most numbers of Instagram users in the world.

Therefore, Instagram is a familiar social media in Indonesia. That is why,

Instagram is used by people who have online business to promote their product

which will make their product quickly recognize by many people. Instagram is

growing with features for advertising. Besides being easy and cheap, advertising

on Instagram also greatly affects the community, most of whom use the Instagram

application. It is why Instagram is used as media for advertising.

The advertisements on the Instagram usually involve well-known people who

are commonly referred to as influencers or celebrities (selebgram). Ads are

packed through several Instagram features such as stories and feeds (posting /

sharing photos or videos). With the many features of Instagram, well-known

brands create Instagram accounts as a promotion of their brands by posting a

photo or video on their Instagram account. This makes it easier for people to find

the brands they like. In addition, these brands not only display advertisements, but

consumers can directly shop through these accounts. Usually, they include a link

to shop in their Instagram bio. Thus, people will choose to shop online because it

is very easy and fast. In addition, Instagram features for advertising are also

provided by the Instagram application itself. This feature usually appears on the

homepage and stories and usually will have the sponsor's writing written on it.

Although this feature has a cost, it will be cheaper and more practical than other

advertisements. Then the Instagram celebrity (Selebgram) is also very helpful for

entrepreneurs who have online businesses to promote their products.

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 The existence of advertisements on Instagram makes advertisements a

reference for everyone in the lifestyle they run. Not only advertisements on

Instagram, advertisements on television, radio, magazines, and others also affect

people's lifestyles. The message contained in the advertisement is also represented

by consumers so that consumers are free to have an opinion about the message in

it. In an advertisement it contains many layered meanings even though an

advertisement seems the simplest. Advertising is not value-free, on the contrary, it

is filled with various interests and ideologies that provide benefits and power to

certain parties. With this potential, advertising can present a problem

(Prabasmoro, 2003). While, what they see on social media is necessarily true.

People can manipulate what they share on social media because basically, they

only want to look good and attractive. Women are one of those people who want

to look like that on social media. In fact, they are willing to buy anything to look

charming. This is their attempt not to get comments that make them feel insecure.

Even according to Kartono (1992) that women are required to have feminine traits

that will be highlighted by the wider community such as beauty, humility and

nurturing. In addition, women are among the users of Instagram. Often, they

compare themselves with other women especially who become ads star on

Instagram or are called influencers or celebrities. Being an ad star, of course, you

have to nurture your appearance as good as possible so that people who see the ad

will be interested in the product advertised. This makes women judge themselves

based on the people they see on Instagram, especially celebrities and influencers,

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which then makes them distrust themselves. One thing that makes them not

confident is about beauty.

Basically, beauty is represented by each own mind because it is subjective.

Beauty is something abstract. Everyone has their own perception of what is

beautiful or not. However, to describe something beautiful or not is a tough thing.

This makes people have their own beauty standards. The number of women who

do not believe in themselves, one of them is because they think it is not in

accordance with existing beauty standards. From an early age, women are taught

to consider their physical appearance as an important factor in fostering pride and

self-confidence. Perhaps some women have experienced when it comes to family

events or holidays where large families gather, the first thing they highlight is

physical changes. This makes women have an ideology that their physique is very

important to society. A woman's body is said to be beautiful not only based on the

beauty of her face, but also synonymous with white, smooth and firm skin, as well

as a body shape that accentuates the curves and plumpness of certain organs, such

as the chest and hips, sensual lips, and all things related to body organs women

(Kasiyan, 2008).

Women are very easily influenced by advertisements shown on social media.

So that make women misinterpret the true meaning of beauty. In Indonesia, most

people think that beautiful women are they have a white skin. The development of

a beauty standard stigma that says being beautiful is having white skin has

become a problem for some women in Indonesia. This is caused by the

construction of mass media and the entry of foreign cultures. So those who have

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dark skin or tan will feel insecure. Therefore, there are so many products in

Indonesia that claim their product can whiten. However, everyone has their own

perception of what a beautiful woman looks like. Sometimes, beauty products that

actually show us that beautiful must be white or beautiful must have a slim and

tall body. This is because usually advertisements for beauty products show models

who have white skin and a slim and also tall body. Thus, many women rate

themselves based on what they see in advertisements, social media, and others.

Indirectly that advertising interprets beauty only from the physical. Beauty is

something that women prioritized. It makes advertising of beauty able to form a

great power for women to establish the standard of beauty.

In this time, there are many advertisements that indirectly describe women's

beauty standards. It is packaged in the form of advertisements so that it is

conveyed smoothly and does not feel like it makes consumers interested and

wants to buy the product. Women's beauty standards also exist due to cultural

developments. Beautiful women who used to only have a slim and tall body, now

women must have white skin. In fact, women who have black circles on the eyes

are considered not beautiful, so products are provided to overcome these black

circles. Thus, there are many women who are competing to buy beauty products

so that they are beautiful according to the beauty standards described by an

advertising model. Meanwhile, according to radical feminists, women are like

moving objects (chattels) or property to be displayed and exploited by a

patriarchal society if they follow social pressures that women must look beautiful

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(Ibrahim, 2007). We can see the standard of woman beauty which is described in

the advertisement below:

(Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIuJG1Dg0DU/?igshid=cv6eujux0yvg)

The previous research about myth has been done by Ainun Siti Fatimah (2020),

that is “Myths of Life on The Instagram Quotes of Rupi Kaur Through Roland

Barthes’s Semiotical Approach”. This research aimed to analyze also find the

myths through the signifier, signified and the relation of signifier and signified on

the quotes of Rupi Kaur. The result of this research shows that there are various

myths about life that appear in Rupi Kaur’s Instagram quotes. In addition, this myth

illustrates real life situation that occurs in everyday human life. The readers also

seem to feel that the quotes relate to human’s experiences who might be feeling it.

This research is used as the main reference in this study.

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 As an explanation above, the researcher interests to examine one of the beauty

products which is the signs of that product can give a myth about woman’s beauty

standards especially in Indonesia through a local beauty product named Dear Me

Beauty. Therefore, the researcher will conduct research with the title “Myth of

Woman’s Beauty Standards through Dear Me Beauty’s advertisements on

Instagram”.

1.2. Statement of Problem

The research about women's beauty standards that are represented through

advertisements has been carried out by several people. However, the object to be

discussed by researchers is currently not used. Thus, the researcher is interested in

examining how the myth of women's beauty standards are represented through

beauty product advertisements. Based on the background of the problem can be

formulated into the research questions as follows:

1). What are myths that found in Dear Me Beauty Advertisements?

2) How the myth of Dear Me Beauty Advertisements related to woman’s beauty

standards in Indonesia?

1.3. Research Purposes

Based on the research questions above, the researcher focuses on woman’s

beauty standards trough Dear Me Beauty’s advertisement on Instagram. The

research is aimed at:

1. To analyze woman’s beauty standards through Dear Me Beauty’s

advertisement

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2. To give an understanding people about their perspective towards woman’s

beauty standards

3. To know how is the woman’s beauty standards in Indonesia

1.4. Research Significances

The researcher expects the readers can take an advantage of this research which

is the advantage specially divides into two significances; they are theoretically and

practically.

1. Theoretically, the advantage of this research is to give an information the

readers about how to measure woman’s beauty standards that researched

through a beauty product with using semiotic approach. Therefore, the readers

will know the signs or symbols in the beauty product advertisement that be

delivered by directly or covertly.

2. Practically, the readers are be able to appreciate woman not only from their

beauty. Most of people appreciate woman from their beauty which causes

someone to be insecure about their appearance and then they don't want to show

their potential. Meanwhile, there are so many reasons why woman should be

appreciated. Therefore, there is value that can be taken by the readers.

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1.5. Key Terms

Myth: Myth is a story born from primitive people who are then believed to form

an ideology in society. Myth also aims to explain the origin of something from

a story or narrative (Sebeok, 2001:155).

Advertisements: Advertising is aim to deliver a message to consumers with

explicit intent to sell a product to customer and it is defined as a form of

communication from author or sponsor to a consume (Solík, 2014). One of the

functions of advertising is to affect society. This shows that advertising not only

provides information, but also instills social and cultural perceptions (Indriani,

2019). Advertisements itself is a media content that aims to presuade the

audience or listener to buy a product which they sell (Renaldo, 2017).

Beauty Standards: Beauty is something abstract. Everyone has their own

opinion about something beautiful or not. however, describing this beauty is

difficult because it could become a standard. The standard of beauty itself is a

requirement or necessity in a beauty which then forms a criterion.

Instagram: Instagram is one of most popular social media today. Instagram is

social media for taking and sharing photos, videos, stories and others. Instagram

have so many features that make the users easily to capture moments with

family friends or even we can find out about someone or anyone in the world

through Instagram.

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