The Cruelty of Winona's Comeback Commercial
Tuesday, January 9, 2018 at 11:00AM Chris here. The Golden Globes seem to be leaving many in a rage, despite a rather triumphant night for women with some powerful statements made by the winners. Please indulge me in my own more frivolous and hopefully levity-infusing rage: L'Oréal tricked us into thinking Winona Ryder would be getting a star vehicle!
Awards ceremony commercial breaks always make for a solid launching pad for prestige television, and from the jump this ad had the gravitas and glamour of something more than selling products. Who is this woman hiding behind those wavy locks? Ooh, a script - she's an actress! But who? The music thumps for the big reveal and the crowd cheers for the reemergent Winona Ryder! Dramatic comeback caption... fades into leaden statement about hair. But the real lead is the the abrupt sinking in your stomach - the ad was a cruel bait and switch, and the NBC Thursday drama starring Winona was only in our minds for but a few beautiful seconds.
Reader, I was displeased. Now don't get me wrong, Ryder's return thanks to Stranger Things deserves the reward of ad campaigns afforded our other favorite actresses, no doubt. But this comeback gal also deserves something the size of which Things cannot afford and we briefly thought this ad was giving her. I wanted this to be a backstage story of triumph or a not sad version of The Comeback! In a few seconds, there was an entire season one arc and an Emmys acceptance speech painted in full in my mind that was just as quickly set ablaze.
Not to mention weird messaging here: was the message all along that her hair was the real star?! In this regard, L'Oréal has made the Three Billboards of beauty ads: in trying to do right, they've done Winona (and her fans) so wrong. What did you envision for this fantasy Winona series?
Reader Comments (10)
The real crime here was equating her career to damaged hair. Didn't anyone else think that was insensitive?
I normally dont go to awards show parties (since i'm normally working or hosting) but this year, since i'm homeless, i ended up at a party and it was weirdly populated by only gay men and everyone FREAKED out about this commercial and was so thrilled when they realized it was Winona and then "whaaa" when it was a hair commercial so in short. Genius Commercial but also Torturous Bait & Switch.
All aside I love Winona for her ability to laugh at herself. Reminds me of how cruel the role in Black Swan seemed, but between that and this it's obvious she's got a sense of humour and immense self-awareness. A true (swan) queen.
Same. Same. Huge cheers with the Winona reveal and then a big WAH WAH when it was revealed that it was for a hair commercial. SIGH.
I felt the same thing, I didn't like the commercial at all, though I admire Winona. She deserves better than that.
The reveal was already spoiled on Twitter for me, but it is indeed a balt/switch ad that manages to show how glamorous Winona can be (especially her de-beautifying role in "Stranger Things"). I hope she can land more high profile projects soon, especially perhaps a smart romantic comedy?
Since Winona famously bowed out of The Godfather 3 due to ‘exhaustion’ from shooting 3 films in a row-it would be great if she portrayed Connie Corlene in some type of stand alone film. Why does Han Solo get his own film?
I figured it was a shampoo commercial when all they showed was her running her fingers through her hair, so I can’t say I relate to the “bait and switch” feeling. I’m definitely here for whatever is next for Winona Ryder, though.
Her hair looks nice which after all it's what they are really selling ; )
I just realized this was Winona Ryder and not Salma Hayek.