Beauty and Bias: Investigating Social, Psychological, and Health Costs of Framing Fairness in Skin Lightening Product Advertising in Pakistan

This study aims to investigate the framing of skin lightening product (SLP) advertisements and the motivational factors influencing Women in Pakistan to use these products. Our study includes the content analysis of the fairness creams ads to identify the framing and the four focus groups of Advertising Agency Professionals (AAP), Psychologists (P), Dermatologists (D) and Consumers (C), the age group for consumers selected for this research is between18 to 25, of university students of Karachi. The investigation is focused on identifying marketing, and strategies of Advertising agencies, understanding the underlying psychological reasons, consequences and ethical medical advice and what motivates the consumers to use skin lightening product. The study examines the six television commercials (TVCs) of leading skin lightening Brands in Pakistan and identify that transformation, success and happiness as dominating frames, the focus group of Psychologist identify the family and peer pressure as driving agents, whereas Dermatologist focused on the consequences of applying SLPs without proper medical guidance. AAP admits the client brief and audience segmentation with main pressure in producing creative content for advertisements while consumers mainly reject influence of ads in their decision masking to use the SLPs, rather highlighted Peer and Societal Pressures as the main agents.