Helen Landsdowne Resor And The Woman s Copy Department

Helen Landsdowne Resor and the Woman’s Copy Department decided to use and upgrade the testimonial as a way of advertising. Distinguished women were interviewed and asked to endorse the product. The first testimonial featured Alva Belmont, a wealthy society woman and feminist (Peiss, 1998). The full-page advertisement, ran in the leading women’s magazines. Belmont refused to allow her picture to run, concerned that it would diminish her prestige and reputation. Other testimonials featured women such as Alice Roosevelt Longworth and Mary McConnell Borah, daughters and wives of powerful men, visible in the world of politics. These ads intended to show case distinguished women not only because they were beautiful, but because they had accomplished something of significance to women. The campaign had been created to impart an image of status and prestige to skin cream, and the advertisers increasingly used this tactic (Peiss, 1998). Even women who identified themselves as fe minists found themselves caught in contradictory impulses. They recognized the variations in women’s experiences in modern society and celebrated women’s achievements. In these ads they maintained that beautifying and achievement do not need to be mutually exclusive: caring for appearance could be seen as an aspect of women’s self-expression and dignity. Even with a background in feminism and reform, many women found themselves actively reinforcing conventional notions of gender difference (Peiss, 1998). The