Sexism in Advertising free essay sample

A paper which discusses sexist and offensive messages in advertisements.The paper provides an overview of the topic of sexism and offensive messages in advertisements. It points out that the average American views up to 3000 advertisements a day and therefore the messages that come across have a huge impact on the viewer. The paper uses the example of De Beers diamond ads as an example of sexist advertising and offers suggestions, such as boycotting products, as a means to control offensive messages.The ways in which women are stripped of their individuality through traditional advertising tropes can be seen in a DeBeers billboard that was recently easily spotted when driving on local freeways. What is so striking about this ad is that it manages to be offensive and sexist without actually portraying any women at all. But by trading on sexist stereotypes that should be long dead (or rather, should never have existed in the first place but most certainly have no business being brought in to play now) it qualifies as a perfect example of how are inundated with messages in the mass media that diminish women in a way that should make us all ashamed. We will write a custom essay sample on Sexism in Advertising or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Sexism in Advertising free essay sample Sex sells, plain and simple. It doesnt matter the gender, male, female, adult or youth, it really doesnt matter because in the end the only thing they care about is whether or not the ideal person has it. Both men and women try to live up the expectations of the opposite gender, which is expressed in advertising. Advertisers take the expectations of the consumer and push them to the extreme in their ads creating a keeping up with the joneses complex, standards that cant possibly be met by all, but would like to be met by most. In the article Constructed Bodies, Deconstructing Ads:Sexism in Advertising written by Anthony J Cortes it describes the manipulation of the public as well as the characteristics of the person that is sought after in advertisements for both men and women. Cortes states, Advertising sells much more than products; it sells values and cultural representations, such as success and 28) Advertisements sell a way of life. We will write a custom essay sample on Sexism in Advertising or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The article brings to light the disorders that are brought on by trying to achieve the perfect body along with the constant stereotyping that affects everyone from preschoolers to full grown adults.Advertising rates a positive by making people buy products, but a negative at what is the cost for those items be it the emotional, physical or mental objects that go along with it. Basically Cortes says it is inevitable that people will conform to the norm to be apart of what they believe is the ideal life style. When a person thinks of Sky Vodka they think life of the party. They think offbeat night they wish they could remember kind of like The Hangover experience. What people dont realize though is that there is a big difference between what is appropriate or expected behavior for men and women, or for boys and arils. (Cortes,1 29) Ads use men and women to grab our attention and persuade the consumer to buy the product. In Sky Vodkas case they take the flawed perspective that men dominate women in life in most of their ads, but still keep the allure of being the life of the party. Sky Vodka uses the concept that successful men are inherently flawed by bring to light that they can get and ideal girl (bottle blonde with big breasts) that has the attention of everyone else by getting her drunk off their vodka.In most of the ads the advertisers create the perception that women are objects and like Sky Vodka o down nice and easy. They create this white lie that harms little girls and boys every. Inhere that see the advertisement because it creates the conceptual belief that without being one of these people in you will not be able to have a guy buy a drink for you, or be able to afford the drink to thus be able to afford the girl. Sky Vodka ads eliminate the belief that you can just be ordinary by creating the extraordinary. Envision a warm sunny day with nothing but blue skies and a few scattered white clouds. Envision a beautiful blonde lying out with the water at her feet letting the sun hit her bronze owned skin as her itty bitty tiny bikini does little to cover her enhancements, putting them on show for the world to see. Envision a headless man in a two thousand dollar Airman suite standing directly above the two perfectly shape breasts of a bottle blonde, big breasted, 20 something female in an itty-bitty blue bikini. In one hand he grasps a dark blue bottle that is engraved with the yellow words SKY Vodka, and in the other two glass martini glasses as if they were just going to share a casual drink.Now envision her leaning up on either her elbows, or pushing herself up with her hands. This beautiful bottle blonde, big breasted, 20 something females face goes directly into the crotch of this all-powerful businessman. This is but one of the many ads that depict the sexual innuendo that goes along in SKY Vodka advertisements. In the Sky Vodka advertisement the positioning of the models creates the belief that men and women are not equal, just like in Cortà ¨ges article. Cortes states images of women from sexpots to airheads not only sold brand products but also helped to shape social attitudes on relationships and on the roles and status accorded to women. (Cortes,133) Basically he is saying that women are suppose to be seen but not heard, just like in this advertisement. Instead of being at a bar or a restaurant were they would converse and find out more about each other, they are alone on what seems to be a beach. The man appears to headless indicating that it could be any man in his position that fits the mold.He seems as if to be on a short brake from work in the middle of the day like during a lunch period seeking just another blow and go while the woman seems to have nothing better to do than go along for the did as long as she gets her drink first. It is not an out right depiction but assumption that is lead on by the positioning of the arms and legs of the characters depicted in the ad that brings to light what the impending future is for bo th models. One of the main discussion topics throughout Cortà ¨ges article that correlates well to the SKY Vodka advertisements is physical body representation, (how the body looks). Cortes states, the face becomes a mask (something you put on) and the body becomes an 130) Both men and women spend so much money on their appearance to live up o the ideals that are created in advertisements but cannot because the models in advertisements are not real. Take the Sky Vodka ad for example. Advertisers took a picture of beautiful man and woman that are models then they airbrushed, digitally enhanced and increased the color ratio with computers before seeing what is presented before which is the final product.That final product of advertising is as real as Santa Clause. Its a figment of a persons imagination that they want to believe so bad that it becomes real after constant forages of like images. You can tell that The Sky Vodka advertisement has been airbrushed and digitally enhanced because if you pay attention to detail and look were the horizon line is everything behind the male model at that point has been drawn in, including the female models feet.