Advertising and Society

In Killing Us Softly, Jean Kilbourne makes many points about the representations of women (and minorities) in the media (specifically advertising) and how this impacts women in reality. While the clip we watched in class specifically focused on body image and the way the media presents a standard of thinness that can never be attained, the secondhand effects of these can broadly be applied to other common themes seen in advertising that are just as degrading, both to men and women.

For example, the objectification of women plays a huge role in lessening their importance in the patriarchal system. If a woman’s only job is to be sexy and serve the male – whether it is through looking good or actual service – then she doesn’t deserve any actual consideration. Kilbourne also went on in the video to describe how this can indirectly begin the cycle of violence against women, and other groups when they are objectified.

Take this advertisement for coffee that was revealed to me in a masculinity studies class – where the husband is spanking his wife. Why? Because she didn’t buy the best coffee, of course! First, let’s examine the depiction of the two people: the husband, with his back to the viewer, is strong (holding a grown woman over your knees takes strength) and authoritative, his hand raised in the air to restore order. The wife, while gracefully getting ready to be spanked, does not look angry that she is being treated like a child; on the contrary, her expression seems to say, “Oh haha, I screwed up again! (Make sure you test your coffee, ladies).” She looks gorgeous even while getting spanked, her heels femininely in the air. They would have been the perfect couple, if only the woman hadn’t screwed up the coffee.

Through its depiction of each “character,” this ad successfully sells not only Chase and Sanborn coffee but also the roles men and women should play. The woman, especially as a wife, needs to do her homely duties perfectly for the satisfaction of her husband. In addition, the role of the typical dominant and powerful male is reaffirmed. I chose this ad because, personally, I find it super-insulting in such an understated way. Everything about the ad makes me angry: the fact that the woman is being spanked of course, but also her manic smile, her heels that show she needs to look perfect while being hit, the man’s stupid suspenders and “office outfit” showing that he is a man of business. The ad maybe even made people laugh when it came out, “poking fun” at the exact practices and ideologies it helps implement.

The other ad I chose was this one which I discovered in the text "Beauty Rediscovers the Male Body" by Susan Bordo. This a Calvin Klein ad for a perfume (called "Escape"), showing an attractive white shirtless man, leaning against a wall, looking at the viewer with intense eyes. The ad breaks traditional norms in many ways. The man's half curled fingers and other hand raised out of the photo leave him looking vulnerable to some degree, especially when coupled with a somehow pleading/unsure look in his eyes.

Perhaps the most explosive part of the ad, however, comes with the caption that appeared in only some versions of the ad (including the one in Bordo's piece), spelling out everything the viewer sees in his eyes: "Take Me." (I had to screen shot the photo from the PDF, so my apologies for the quality.) While the caption refers of course to the name of the perfume (asking for an Escape), it is also very suggestive about the changed role the man is playing in terms of sexuality. In almost all of our ads (and our society), men play the dominant role, especially in terms of sex. They do the initiating, the "f*cking" - the women is simply a receiver. The ad blows through that norm and makes the women looking at the ad feel like more than just passive receivers. They will be doing the taking.

The ad is not perfect of course; the man still has perfect abs and muscles and cannot be less than gorgeous. Standards of unattainable beauty are still maintained. It is also interesting that other versions of the ad were published without the caption, sometimes giving quite a different feel.

What Calvin Klein successfully did through this ad, however, was cater to the changing landscape of gender roles and power relations. He constructed an ad that would sit well with women who were sick of being the passive ones in every exchange. On the other hand, it's important to consider that while it seems that the grounds are slowly being leveled, they are also being lowered together. This ad attempts to bridge the gap by objectifying men - in the same way that women have been and continue to be objectified. Perhaps a better solution would be to stop objectification altogether, but that's a whole different story for now.

For the future, I would hope that the advertising industry creates new values and themes for itself- thereby helping to further implement the change already brewing in society- rather than the tried-and-true(ly offensive) ones it has been milking so far.

P.S. Another Calvin Klein ad (for the same perfume, interestingly) that may be worthy of examination, with arguments possible for both sides - that it is still sexist and typical or that it breaks some norms. Feel free to check it out.

Sources:

Advertisement 1

Advertisement 2

Advertisement 2- Take Me

Bordo, Susan "Beauty Rediscovers the Male Body" The Male Body 2000.

Kilbourne, Jean Killing Us Softly