On the surface, the video shows a high school girl (Lil Mama) struggling to fit into the "cool" crowd. Her mom advises her to use the same lip gloss she did. Suddenly, Lil Mama is the center of attention at school. Girls envy her and guys want to be with her.
Even though it was a very popular song, and I've heard it many times and even seen the video a few times, I had never thought about what it meant. So this time I watched it very carefully and listened to the lyrics closely. All of a sudden it seemed as if the whole song could be a parody of product commercials. In the beginning Lil Mama's mom tells her that a lip gloss is the solution to her popularity and image woes, much like many commercials.
Something that stands out even more is how she uses product slogans in the lyrics. "MAC, L'Oreal, yep, 'cause I'm worth it", she sings. "Because you're worth it" is the L'Oreal campaign slogan. She then also directly relates her appeal to boys to the products she uses. "L'Oreal got them Wa-watermelon Crush-es, that's probably the reason all these boys got crushes" she says. This is exactly the message that product commercials give to their viewers. She even tells the other students she can "upgrade you, show you how to use nice things with nice flavors". The promise of "upgrading" or creating a "better" you is a big factor in creating effective adds. She even throws in the popular McDonalds slogan. "I be lovin' it, I be, I be lovin' it" she sings of her lip gloss.
The video images support the theme of parody in my opinion. In one scene, the dean of the school calls Lil Mama into her office. Instead of getting in trouble, Ms. McClarkson praises her lip gloss saying "I must admit that Bubble Gum is poppin". Lil Mama looks back into the camera and says "It's poppin?" with confused look on her face. I think this is supposed to show how unrealistic it is that a lip gloss will change your life.
Finally, at the end of the video, Lil Mama gets in the car with her mom and says "Mama that lip gloss is poppin...look at me" to which her mom replies "Mama it wasn't the lip gloss it was you all along". In my opinion this shows that most of the time it isn't the products that change anything, but the sense of confidence that takes over us when we feel good about ourselves. Companies know this and market products so that when your wearing them you feel good about yourself, and end up thinking the product did the trick.
I don't know if that's what Lil Mama actually wanted to say through the song or if I'm reading to much into it, but that's my opinion.
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