“She, un cuento de J&B” is an advertisement released during the 2022 holiday season by the scotch and whiskey company J&B for a Spanish-language speaking audience. The short, mostly wordless video features an older man secretly putting on makeup and, in an emotional ending, doing the makeup of his granddaughter Ana. The video quickly circulated on social media platforms like TikTok where many users shared interpretations and expressed positive responses to J&B’s advertisement. Some media consumers noted the brand’s history of advocating for Queer communities, especially in their prior campaign, “Hay Ganas de Orgullo de Pueblo,” which is meant to celebrate queer people in rural Hispanic communities. With “She, un cuento de J&B,” the company aims to generate awareness around the challenges of inclusive acceptance for LGBTQ+ and specifically transgender youth.

discussion

What does this ad tell us about the characters’ identities, and what does it not tell us? 

Why do you think this ad includes people from different generations (grandfather and granddaughter)? Would it be as compelling if it was Ana buying and applying the makeup, not her grandfather? 

How do the artistic choices in this ad (for example, the lack of dialogue or the choice of setting) contribute to the tone and message?

In almost all the scenes, the older man applies, buys and looks at makeup in secret. How does this secrecy convey the experience of queer and trans people? What still remains a secret by the end of the ad? 

How do you interpret the placement of the J&B product at the end of the video? Do you think that messages of acceptance for trans and queer people can coexist with the goal of selling a product, and how?