The Ugliness of a Beauty Pageant Cleaning Service
Recently, a commercial has been shown over and over again, and each time I see it I find it increasingly disturbing.
It is disturbing because it is misleading, panders to the pretentiousness of potential clients, uses incorrect terminology, objectifies women and youth, and is breathtaking in its disdain toward workers.
It is beyond the scope of this essay to examine in full what many labour advocates and gig-economy critics would characterize as exploitative features of this type of business model, particularly as they affect the contract workers providing the actual service.
First, take a look at the clip below (it is mercifully brief), then come back to me.
Here is a transcript of the ad (bold emphasis is mine):
“After Homeaglow cleaned our place for $19, we fired our old housekeeper (NB: interestingly the spokesperson says "old", but the tagline omits this adjective). They tackled everything, from our kitchen, bathroom and all our laundry. Just pick a date and a cleaner and enjoy a spotless home for $19.”
Quality and Style of the Ad
The advertisement looks almost amateurish, like some TikTok video produced on the cheap. But do keep in mind that those behind it — the company that produced it — is far from a group of dilettantes producing a clip in their parent’s basement. Tellingly, the word/name “Homeaglow” has reached sufficient stature that an updated spellchecker doesn’t even flinch — so much for a tiny community-based company as their website would have you believe.
The backdrop in the commercial appears to be a moderately high-end condo, generic and forgettable. Of interest is that the stove clock is still blinking or scrolling — a small but telling detail. To my eye, this strongly suggests a staged set rather than the home of a genuine client offering a genuine testimonial about Homeaglow's services. I will leave it to the reader to draw their own conclusion.
The spokesperson, the young woman providing the testimonial, is just that: young and female. She’s pretty, blonde, rather neutral in appearance, wearing a fetching “little black dress”. Generally one assumes that the actors or roles in an advertisement are created either to mimic the actual target consumer or to create what the desired buyer wishes to emulate or to become.
Hence, this is who Homeaglow sees as its consumer.
Misleading Content?
Most of us are sufficiently savvy to know that ad copy is not always completely truthful, but this particular advertisement is staggeringly egregious in how it misleads the viewer.
I checked their website, posing as a potential client. The small print was not easy to locate — a design choice that seems unlikely to be accidental. Based on what I read at the time of writing, the $19 introductory rate appears to be genuine, but comes with significant conditions. As I understood the terms then, this fee covers a single three-hour session, does not appear to extend to full laundry service (clothing may be placed in the machine, but little more), and requires a commitment of approximately six months of service with a credit card on file — not unlike the cancellation-clause contracts familiar from cell phone providers. Subsequent visits appear to run closer to $100, with potential variables depending on location, session length, and add-ons, as well as an additional recurring monthly fee. Readers are encouraged to check the current terms directly, as these details may have changed.
Then again, perhaps a cleaner can single-handedly whip an entire house into shape in three hours. If so, yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus; the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny are real.
Specious Vocubulary
“Housekeeper”? Nowadays, who exactly has a housekeeper? Certainly not the pretty little thing in the condo.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a housekeeper is:
“a person, especially a woman, whose job is to organise another person's house and deal with cooking, cleaning, etc.”
Or, if you prefer the more non-gender specific language of Merriam-Webster:
“one employed to manage the domestic duties involved in maintaining a house, or a member of a household who manages the domestic duties of the household.”
Here is how I imagine the marketing personnel in charge of defining terms for the website and ad copy:
“So, what shall we call the girls?” “Maids?” No, too old-fashioned and gender biased”. “But we are gender biased”. “Never mind, let’s not flaunt it.” “OK, how about cleaning services and cleaners?” “No, not sexy and original enough — we need to differentiate ourselves.” “Wait, wait, I know, I know… What about housekeeping and housekeepers? It sounds all posh and sophisticated.”
Since this is a TV spot, here are a few notable housekeepers from TV-Land and Movie-Land:
- Ann B. Davis playing the Brady Bunch live- housekeeper Alice.
- Mrs. Doubtfire, played by Robin Williams in the film of the same name
- Daphne, the live-in housekeeper/physical therapist on Frasier
- Hazel, the live-in housekeeper in the eponymous 1960s television show
- Mrs. Hughes in Downton Abbey
Of course, this is merely a tiny list of housekeeping characters in television and film, and I have omitted the many stereotypical black women (think Butterfly McQueen playing Lottie in "Mildred Pierce", who wasn’t even credited in the film for her role). Still, with the exception of the young and pretty Daphne, most of these types of characters were older women (Mrs. Doubtfire was indeed a cross-dressing man, but that is another story altogether).
Which brings us to the “housekeepers” on tap at Homeaglow.
Gender and Beauty
Unsurprisingly, the majority of “team members” offering up their services on the Homeaglow platform are women. To be honest, there are a few men here and there, but the vast majority are women. Youthful and beautiful women.
It’s unlikely the cleaners identify with Alice from the Brady Bunch or Mrs. Hughes from Downton Abbey. Perhaps they relate more to Cinderella and Snow White, both young, pretty, oppressed and forced into menial and manual labour, but who will eventually be found by their Prince and live happily ever after (hopefully not with the man of the household being cleaned!).
But, in case you had any concern about the dedication of the housekeepers, the Homeaglow website rather ambiguously affirms that:
“No one likes cleaning bathrooms, except maybe … cleaners on Homeaglow!” (note, here they are called cleaners — nice switch).
Back to the workers on offer, one wonders what sort of casting-call algorithm is in place that leans almost exclusively to the young and beautiful.
A browse through the platform's publicly listed profiles reveals a striking pattern: the overwhelming majority of those presented are young women, and notably attractive ones. Whether by algorithm, self-selection, or editorial curation on the platform's part, the aesthetic consistency is difficult to ignore — less a roster of tradespeople, more a curated gallery.
Returning to the potential purchasers of the service, I’m not certain I understand. If the target is a relatively young, urban and upscale woman, why would the “housekeepers” would be so utterly attractive, sultry and youthful? Do people make an unconscious connection between the beauty of the service provider and the beauty of the service provided? I honestly don’t know.
The Callow, Unfeeling Sentiment behind it
“We Fired Our Housekeeper” is the galling tagline of this video. How ugly and mean-spirited. Assuming the pretty young spokesperson actually had a “housekeeper”, or more honestly a “cleaning lady”, is $19 a reason to dismiss an independent worker? In this make-believe scenario, who was this likely older woman (and yes, I’m using the female pronoun here because let’s face it, most domestic cleaners are women), how many years had she been cleaning this child’s dollhouse? How would the firing impact her life? Would she be entitled to unemployment benefits? Would she be thrown into a catastrophic financial situation?
Does our young lady even care? No, certainly not.
And this callow, self-centred creature is the target market for Homeaglow. But that seems almost fair — remember there are cancellation clauses in the contract. Homeaglow knows that their customers will drop them on a dime (or for a dime), so they are well-prepared for this eventuality.
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