Pantene’s recent commercial titled, “Not Sorry, Shine Strong”, caught my attention before I even watched it. But once I finally sat down and watched what everyone was talking about, my thoughts weren’t on shampoo- but of the undeniable truth behind the advertisement.
Squeezed into a tiny minute long commercial contained an issue much greater than hair products. It describes how women are always apologizing for things like asking a question or when someone else bumps your arm. But why? Why do women feel like they owe the world an apology for every joke, every inquiry, every request?
Jessica Bennett from TIME describes it perfectly when she says that women use sorry as a crutch. They put it in front of a request so they don’t seem to demanding or aggressive. It’s a way of women saying something they aren’t totally sure the other person wants to hear without seeming completely rude or unintelligent, such as when they ask a “stupid question.”
But when it comes to work apologies, we aren’t actually sorry for that question or request. We just think it makes us seem more polite, approachable, and less threatening. Maybe it makes us sound more polite, but does it make us sound more competent? Like someone who has earned their position at work and should be taken seriously? Not so much. Women need to stop apologizing and start sounding more confident with their words, needs, and questions- and as the Pantene ad says, “let their strength shine through.”
Click Below to View Pantene’s New Empowerment Ad
“Not Sorry, Shine Strong”
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