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I have studied 11 Indian and Western male centered advertisements to understand the use of women to market, sell and persuade the audience to buy a product or concept.
I have studied 11 Indian and Western male centered advertisements to understand the use of women to market, sell and persuade the audience to buy a product or concept.
I have studied 11 Indian and Western male centered advertisements to understand the use of women to market, sell and persuade the audience to buy a product or concept.
Think about the hundreds or thousands pictures of Women that we
see, every month and year, in magazines, on TV, in the movies, in advertising. How do these pictures compare with what we see when we look at the real women around us, every day? Young women are not presented as full and multi-dimensional people; instead, they are often posed and dressed so as to de-emphasize individuality. The effect visually reduces a woman to a body, or in some instances, to parts of her body, as if she is not a real, whole person. The term that most often describes this phenomenon is: objectification. A definition of Objectification might be: "portrayals of women in ways and contexts which suggest that women are objects to be looked at, ogled, even touched, or used, anonymous things or commodities perhaps to be purchased, perhaps taken - and once tired of, even discarded, often to be replaced by a newer, younger edition; certainly not treated as full human beings with equal rights and needs. Objectification of women is obviously common in mainstream media. We see it in advertising, in pin-ups, calendars, "girlie pictures" in movies, magazines, we see it everywhere.
Transformation of "BEAUTY" Societys interpretation of beauty has significantly changed over time and will always continue to change. Women are not coming up with these beauty and style decisions on their own. However, the media and advertising plays a huge role in influencing what women view as beautiful. Flooding womens brains with the fair, tall, slender bodies of modern models is a tactic the media uses to keep society up with the times. If a certain image is repeated enough through television, printed ads, movies, commercials, billboards, etc., society will accept this image as the norm and copy it (Alice, 2010). As society transforms and changes over time, our image of beauty will subsequently continue to change as well. Over the past ten years, advertisements in mainstream magazines have increasingly relied on the explicit sexualization of both men and women to sell products. Over the same period, the models used have become younger and younger. The images in these ads often contain or imply violence superiority and domination dismemberment (fragmenting and sexualizing body parts) playfulness and exaggeration coy behaviour approval seeking emaciation drug addiction fetishism It's not unusual in the fashion industry to see very young models setting standards of attractiveness for older women. What's new is the emergence over the past two decades of highly eroticized portrayals of these young women. The Indian Perspective The Indian marketing industry has been found wanting in the area of gender sensitivity in many instances due to its inappropriate and sometimes patronizing portrayal of women in advertisements. It would be careless on executives part to turn a blind eye to the damage that inappropriate brand communication can cause to the company and potentially to the society itself. The Indian advertising industrys gender insensitivity is proliferated through the gender stereotyping and the objectification of women. Gender stereotyping is subtle in advertising activities due to the lack of awareness, fatalism towards womens condition in the society, lack of easily accessible redressal mechanisms and sometimes plain indifference on the societys part. Going by its track record, Indian advertising industry has rarely shied away from straight-jacketing gender roles. Numerous advertisements have portrayed women as hollow beings who measure their worth through their skin tone, body weight, beauty quotient and the likes. Scores of advertisements of brands including Axe, Close up, Fair and Lovely, Tuffs shoes, Lux Innerwear have blatantly resorted to showing women in poor light - pushing the image of women to the brink. Advertising visuals have objectified women to the extent of portraying women as a mere sum of their body parts, denigrating their intelligence and individuality. The advertisements make girls and women feel inadequate if they do not conform to the image projected in the advertisements. Stereotyping of women is a widespread phenomenon in the Indian media extending beyond the realm of marketing. The typical stereotypes include the naive/dependant housewife whose sole purpose is to keep her husband/kids/in-laws happy, the unmarried girl whose existence can only be validated by a suitable marriage and the village belle who has no means of livelihood and is a burden on her family. There are a few product categories which frequently use taboo subjects as an advertising strategy e.g. perfumes, chocolates, cars and trendy clothing. In most of these cases, oblique references to eroticism and sex are perhaps one of the most common strategies used. Here lies the danger of crossing the fine line between utilizing artistic freedom of the advertiser for making an impact over the audience and honouring sensibilities of the society. Importantly the correlation between the use of sexual innuendos in the advertising and its impact on the sales isnt clearly established. Most often, audience buys the ad not the product! If we are asked to name one advertisement in India which has created controversy, Amul Machos is one of the most easily recalled but how many of the customers have consequently bought the product and the impact of the advertisement on the buying decision is ambiguous.
Women grow up in a world Where objectified images of women's bodies are everywhere - on TV, newsstands, in advertisements, movies, calendars. Where many women start to feel old and unattractive even in their 20's. Where women aren't taken seriously. Where even the youngest and most beautiful women often worry constantly, and cannot match in real life their photographed, objectified image. Where half-naked female bodies are displayed on walls, in public like objects, exposed female bodies used as markers of male territory, male turf... Immediate signals of discomfort, and of menace, for women.
Aim: To support the above points by analysing and studying several Indian and Western male centred advertisements with personalised perspectives attached to a woman and how she is objectified to market, promote and sell a particular concept or product.
1. The Axe Effect Women Billions
The Axe way of Advertising: Axe uses humour, the objectification of sexes and propagandistic advertising techniques to sell products. Most Axe commercials are still directly geared towards men because the overall slogans and messages in the advertisements show that the deodorant will make women more interested in you if you use the product. There are plenty of Axe commercials that clearly use the sexuality of women to lure men specifically into buying their products. Axe deliberately uses very sexual and propagandistic advertising techniques, that objectify women, slander men and that create the very specific idea that if a man or a woman buys Axe deodorant then he or she will get the partner of their dreams.
This commercial is a disturbing depiction of the objectification of women under the heterosexual male gaze and the glorification of male sexual desire. The ad has incredibly dramatic music playing and swarms of tall, thin women with large breasts, long hair, tiny stomachs, long legs, and large behinds charging the scene as the camera primarily focuses on their fierceness of their ideal bodies as animals rather than faces or individualistic attributes as women. It is a prime example of objectification of women. Based on Bergers statement that how a woman appears to a man can determine how she will be treated (Berger 37) this commercial justifies the treatment of women like pets or lesser animals by men. In addition, Jean Kilbournes observation is that there is extreme pressure for women of colour to emulate the features of white women which is strongly reflected in the coloration of the masses of beautiful women. The most disturbing element of the ad lies at the end, where all the women flocking towards him as if they are his belongings please the single man. Axe has sexualized their product as their slogan, Spray More, Get More, indicates that the self of ownership the man has over his deodorant is equivalent to that he has over these sexualized women. Now this saying is completely untrue, but yet Axe is specifically targeting men because all men are supposed to want is beautiful women. This advertisement is aimed at a heterosexual, male audience, that just as in the wild environment of a jungle, mountains, and beach, men can rule over women and take advantage of them as sex is trivialized (Kilbourne). This commercial is just ridiculous because the overall message in this ad is that if a man puts on this spray deodorant, then millions of beautiful women in bikinis will come running to him.
2. Wild Stone Dia Mirza
The latest in actor Dia Mirza's longish repertoire of looking impossibly pretty on celluloid, is a commercial for a deodorant brand. This one, unlike the others Bollywood stars have endorsed in the past, doesn't promise pristine white armpits or a pollution invading flowery fragrance. It tells potential male buyers that all you need to do is spray it and stand at the window - a dazzling Dia Mirza prototype will coming running to you. The ad starts with Dia Mirza and the man looking at each other from the window; she smells him (we dont know how) and starts heavily dressing up and putting on make-up and jewellery, exhibiting her keen anxiety of hooking up with the man). A very comforting thought for the men of our world here it may be, but ads like these point at a deeper malaise in our culture - that of not giving enough space and legitimate hearing to the idea of female desire. As writer Veena Venugopal points out in her strong piece on Kafila, female desire in popular social and cultural narratives is either something that's hastily shoved under the carpet or laughed at for its apparent ridiculousness. It sure is one of the reasons why women are objectified because they have to be under the table when it comes to taboo topics.
3. Cobra Deo
Cobra Deo has recently started to advertise the fact that its now available in a bigger size, which is the point of the new ad presumably. In the frame is a can of deodorant and a pair of well-manicured (womans) hands. In the background for some reason there are some chess pieces and cufflinks. Maybe because men should aspire to these intellectual games and fashion? The 49-second ad sticks to this one frame, while the womans hands caress the can; first, with one hand and then, from top to bottom, with both. Theres a squiggly, ahem, vein on the label that becomes pronounced. One part of the can turns transparent so that you can see a build-up of something fizzy inside. The can grows bigger and bigger until finally, it just cant handle all this stroking. The cap comes off and out comes a spray.
The ad cannot be more direct, obviously referring to a hand job given by a woman implying that women will find the men as attractive that they will get a hand job; also further hinting that women become maids of all work without proper appreciation or remuneration.
4. Durex XXL
This advertisement is actively displaying that women are sex objects at men's dispense. Condoms are generally a men's product, yet in this ad we see a women with bandages over the sides of her mouth (suggesting that the man's penis that the woman gave oral to was so big that it ripped the sides of her mouth open). I really shouldn't have to say why I am disgusted nor why this advertisement is wrong, but this is just priming men who view this ad to think a couple of things. First, this ad is suggesting that men can treat women like sex objects to do what they please with and women will enjoy it. Second, this ad suggests that if a man's penis is not big enough, it will not be able to please (abuse in this case) a woman.
5. Fiat 500 Abarth
This advertisement is a good example of the idea that women only show resistance to be playful and cant be taken seriously. Here the women seems upset about the man who is stopped and starring at her, but like many ads her mood goes from discontent to not just welcoming the attention, but wanting it as well. Ads like this one give viewers the wrong impression about fickleness of a womans wants and desires.
6. MAC Computer system
The goal within this advertisement is an attempt to persuade consumers to purchase a MAC computer system. As you notice, representing the Apple Company is a slim, young, Caucasian male while PC is being represented by a slightly middle aged Caucasian male who appears to be heavier in weight than the representative from the Apple Company. In order to appeal to customers even more, the Apple Company uses Gisele Bundchen to push the product more displaying her in a revealing dress to show off her skin and physique. On the contrary, PC is then represented by a male dressed unattractively as a woman. Clearly, the goal of the Apple Company is to persuade the public to purchase a MAC because of its appealing and sleek look.
7. Syntha-6 Protein Shake
The Syntha-6 Protein shake advertisement objectifies women in so many ways. First off, they have the protein shake resting upon a very luscious and what seems to be promiscuous womans rather large and toned bikini bottom. At first glance, one would not even know the ad was for a protein shake. Two, the company is trying to grab the attention of men by putting something on the page that will stick out to them and they would desire. It is almost like the company is advertising that if you drink this protein shake, then you will be able to get a woman as perfect and sexy as this. Advertisements of this manner do not make women feel good about them either. Girls may grow up thinking that this is the ideal body type and begin to have negative feelings about their own bodies. The logo SHAKE WELL and enjoy also makes women come off as being able to be dominated and taken advantage of. It degrades women in order to attract men to the product.
8. Kate Upton Gillette Fusion ProGlide Styler TV Commercial
The advert is narrated by a weird guy who waltzes around a lavish pool party in a knockoff Tom Ford suit refusing to let the women he encounters speak more than a few words each. Poor Hannah isn't even permitted more than a wink while "smoothest guy on the planet" dictates her male fantasy ("a guy with a smooth stomach, to show off his six-pack"). Meanwhile, Genesis jiggles at the camera as the narrator informs us she "likes men completely hairless and no, she doesn't think that's weird." "I don't," Genesis is permitted to confirm, after shaking her head, raising her eyebrows and looking the camera lens up and down in a manner that suggests she's a little shy, but still totally ready to go on her knees (in the sexual connotation). Her completely two-dimensional aggressive sexuality is actually one of the more disturbing things about this advert. Kate Upton's great, it's just that her presence confirms Gillette is drawing on associations of women and body hair to sell their product to men. Rather than having a man talk about his experience (like all of the female shaving products ads); they instead decided to use a young woman who's been sexualised by the media to (silently) argue its necessity. "You need this because you want to have sex with Kate Upton, don't you?"
The advert, which hinges on the "desires" of three glamorous, peach coloured women with hair down to their ankles, revolves around the new-fangled concept that men should be hairless in order for women to want to have sex with them. Immediately, we lose our hopes of equality: body hair, according to Gillette, is unequivocally a female issue, regardless of where it's been ripped from. If men have to know the pain, discomfort and inconvenience of ridding their bodies of it, it is because women will refuse to have sex with them if they don't.
9. Trojan Her Pleasure/ Man Force Condoms Ads
It is great that the company is selling a product which caters to womens sexuality. This is in reference to the new For Her Pleasure condoms. However, the ads selling this new product have insulted many women making them feel uncomfortable. If the man is the one who is supposed to wear your product it would be fair to have men represented in the ads; maybe a male model with a condom peering out of his boxers instead of a woman. If this product is supposed to be for women, then the two ads are not selling what they are supposed to. The ads are degrading and objectify womens bodies.
10. Unnamed Youth Fashion brand
This is an advertisement of a leading Indian youth fashion brand which created controversy for using the girl in the advertisement as sex- object by showing nudity and her outfit with the word in it sale as she is the product. The whole thing appears in such a way that the girl is for sale and it is disturbing.
11. LYNX Shower Gel
In this advertisement, a womans body is shown and objectified to persuade men to purchase LYNX shower gel. The woman is shown dressed in a bikini very dirty yet very oily with attempts to focus men on her breasts and bikini line. As you look closely, its very hard to figure out if the advertiser is trying to sell women or their product. The main eye catcher of the advertisement is the objectified woman. Notice, that the actual product is in the bottom corner as if its just a prop for the advertisement.
As a result of these commercials, men judge real, non-photoshopped women based on this ideal. These types of advertisements are so degrading to women; women are seen as sexual attractive prizes for men and nothing more. I always knew women were seen as less valuable than men, but it has never caught my attention within the messages of all advertisements. Its a shame to see how society portrays women, as if degrading women is the only way to attract men and women to purchase items. The worst part is not the industries objectifying women; its the society that participates leaving women to be an object for mens pleasure and given an unrealistic icon for women to look up to. These images send messages to young girls and women that you have to look like this or you are undesirable. The obsession of staying thin comes from comparison theory, where people look at others and determine who is in the better state of attractiveness. We believe that massive objectification of women may contribute to a "climate" in which violence and exploitation of women are both tolerated and tacitly encouraged. Once you have learned to see a class of human beings as objects, or in ways that effectively reduce them to objects, it becomes much easier to use them as one would an object, with as little, or less, regard. In short, the direct negative effects on women, as we are exposed to it daily are: negative self-images, shame about ourselves, diminished feelings of dignity, autonomy, privacy, and SAFETY.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, the media depicts women as very thin, tan, large breasts and toned butt with perfect make-up and hair. Everyday women look at these images and believe that they have to look like this. To add further comparison, men believe that the women in advertisements are what real women are supposed to look like. A survey proved that women who viewed thin and attractive women in ads showed lower self-esteem than the women who viewed ads with average looking women. In social context this shows that women are put up to this standard that they have to be very thin, pretty and basically a bombshell. Beside looks, women are expected to perform female gendered tasks such as cleaning, cooking and taking care of the husband and children, all while looking perfect.
The major issue is that girls take this Perfect 10 image seriously and can lead to bigger problems like eating disorders. Eating disorders such as, anorexia and bulimia can cause many severe health problems from rapid weight loss and poor nutrition.
Besides eating disorders, social situations can be a problem for women who are dissatisfied with their bodies. People with low self-esteem are not always going to maintain other healthy relationships because of their poor body image. Real women are always being compared to the women on television, in magazines and on the internet. These women in the ads are photo shopped to make them look better, meaning this is not the real image being portrayed and no women really looks like this. These altered images are being accepted into society and taken seriously.
The seriousness of this issue is what makes it a social problem. It is not that a few women have eating disorders; it is that a lot of women have believe their bodies have to look like the models in the media. This is showing that U.S. society is based on looks and attractiveness, rather than emotions of real people who are more than just looks. Women should realize that advertisements wrongfully portray women as thin sex-goddesses and this image is not real. Women do not have to be thin to be beautiful or show their cleavage and give sexual favours to get what they want. Through education, women can gain respect and promote a healthy body image and ignore what advertisements are representing. As a society we are still far away from equality in the media. Women are still being used as sex objects and housewives in advertisements which is just perpetuating the stereotypes. Unfortunately, as long as the images presented by the media sell it is unlikely that companies will stop using stereotypical and sexist depictions of women.