Advertising

“Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don't have for something they don't need.” Ted Rogers

THESE are the messages that help form how we see ourselves and treat eachother.

There are many codes and conventions used in advertising. Codes and conventions are the familiar and predictable forms and techniques used by the media to communicate certain ideas or to convey a desired impression. That is, there are recurring patterns that we see in most ads. Clearly, this Tom Ford ad is using the irrelevant sexualization of women and the dismemberment of the female body to sell cologne. I understand that to a certain extent advertising has become purely about shock value. After all, creating shocking ads creates a buzz for your brand. But, where is the social responsibilty. When can a woman feel comfortable knowing that the media is not perpetuating these disgusting messages about a woman's value and worth. Our value does not simply come from the roundness and firmness of our breasts and our behinds. To see more offensive ads, take a look at Tom Ford's most recent ad campaign, visit http://www.tomford.com/#/en

This American Apparel ad shocked me to my core. The bright pink lipstick is reminiscient of blackface minstrel shows (see image below) and it almost seems to be saying " ... see what we did back in the day to make fun of you people, it wasn't wrong - there's actually people who look like this". Why would a company want to create an ad that reminds people of media's overtly racist past? Then again, perhaps the purpose was to remind us that "the more things change, the more they stay the same". For those of you, who do not know about blackface, blackface minstrel was a very popular form of entertainment in the 19th century. The blackface minstrel shows consisted of White men painting their face black, exaggerating their mouth and acting "Black". Blackface supported, encouraged and celebrated racist stereotypes of Black people.

To read more about "Blackface minstrel" go to http://www.authentichistory.com/diversity/african/

Here are 3 more terribly sexist magazine advertisements.

1. American Apparel
Dismemberment - ads often focus on the sexualized body parts of women to sell their products. The objectification of the female body commodifies women. Clearly, it makes a woman the sum of her physical parts and sends a message about the worth and value of women.

2. Skyy Vodka
Male Domination and Superiority - ads often feature women in positions of inferiority and the subordination is often tied to sexual acts. These types of ads undoubtedly send a message to both men and women. The message is unequivocly that men should have control over women. These types of messages also encourage male violence.

3. Dolce and Gabbana
Male Domination and Superiority - This ad seems astonishngly similar to what many would describe as a gang rape scene. Nearly ninety percent of violent crimes are perpetrated by males. Why isn't more violent crime committed by females? Well, I think it has much more to do with nurture than nature. Society does not condone or reinforce female violent behaviour in the same way that it does male violent behaviour. Take a look at all of these ads, what are young boys learning about how to treat women, about the position and role of women in society. What lesson is being taught about a woman's worth?


To view more disturbing ads, google "sexist ads"
or visit http://www.genderads.com/Gender_Ads.com.html