Enjolie: The ad that inspired a young woman

I told you I was completely blog illiterate, so I’m not sure how to link to other blogs. Therefore, I’m giving you the URL of a great group project that is being sponsored by the RandyClayDesign blog. The project is to write about an ad slogan. Here is the URL… http://randaclay.com/blogging/group-writing-project-ad-lib/

Okay, that being said, the advertising slogan that most affected my life is from an ad from the 70s for Enjolie perfume. The wording went like this: “I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never let you forgot you’re a man. Cuz I’m a woman. Enjolie.”

Young woman today may read this slogan and think, “so what’s the big deal with that?” However, if you were like me, a teenager listening to this in the 1970s, this was a novel idea. Women “having it all”… career AND family!

Women during that time were just on the cusp of equality. Women like Gloria Steinem were leading the “women’s liberation movement” (as it was known then), demanding equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal pay. Before that time, there were very few women who had “careers”. Jobs maybe, careers rarely.

Most young women today don’t understand how lucky they are to have had these women fighting for their rights. Young women today grow up knowing they can choose any career path they desire. That was not the case in the 70s (and prior to that time). But the 70s changed all that. It was a glorious time for young women who suddenly had the door to life opened for them. The world was their oyster, filled with opportunities never before seen for women.

This ad slogan for Enjolie was a sign of the times. It was a statement that women could do anything they desired. They could have it all.

I was lucky enough to be a teenager during that time. By the time I graduated from high school, I knew I could choose any career I wanted. My older sister, just 7 years my senior, did not have that opportunity. Most girls her age graduated, got married, and had children. Now, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with that… I have complete admiration for my sister and all she has achieved… but college was not the norm. A “career” was not the norm. By the time I came of age, I had so many more doors open to me… so many paths I could choose.

This catchy little Enjolie jingle most certainly played a major part in who I am today. I went to college and became a copywriter and then marketing communications manager. Today I own 2 businesses: a marcom consulting firm and a home remodeling company, plus I am a novice real estate investor with 6 properties to my name as of today. I have raised two wonderful sons who are the light of my life, I married a man whom I adore, and I have a family rich in love.

Today, 30 years later, there are many days when I still sing that little jingle! “I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in the pan, and never let you forget you’re a man. Cuz I’m a woman. Enjolie.” It usually pops into my head on days when I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the responsibilities in life, and it instantly gives me a feeling of strength and empowerment. “I can do this. I am strong. I am woman.”

The perfume Enjolie is long gone, but the affect that it had on a young teenage woman in the 70s still remains strong. I wonder if the copywriter who created that slogan has any idea of how powerful and life-altering it was for so many women like me. Whoever you are, if you’re out there… thank you!