Adverising Discussion

To prepare for this assignment, review the photo essay, “Reading the Gaze: Gender Roles in Advertising” (pp. 206-209 in Reading Culture).
At the bottom of page 206 and continuing up to the top of page 207, there’s a quotation from the book, Reading Images, that explains how the posing of a model can lead to conveying either a demand or an offer. Here’s how the differences between the two are defined:
Demand Offer
model is gazing directly at the viewer the model is looking away from the viewer
the model is asking the reader to engage in an imaginary personal relationship with him or her. the relationship between viewer and model is impersonal. The viewer engages in dispassionate scrutiny, as if the model were an item in a display case.
This “relationship” can take many forms, such as friendship, seduction, intimidation, etc… These possibilities are invoked by the model’s gaze and body language There’s a fiction that the model may not even be aware of the viewer. Sometimes this “spying” can seem intrusive. The viewer is the one who interprets the situation.
The model is active. The model is the subject of the encounter, and the viewer is the passive object of it. The viewer is the active subject; the model is the passive object.
For an example of a demand, turn to the picture of the “Got Milk?” ad featuring the rapper, Nelly, on p. 209. Nelly is gazing directly at the viewer and trying to have an effect on him. I use the male pronoun here because I think the milk industry is using this celebrity to encourage more young men to buy their beverage. The tricky part of selling to this audience is that milk is often seen as a babyish drink and a wholesome one–at a time in their lives when young men are often seeking to gain status and want to be taken seriously as strong and powerful beings. That being the case, they have positioned Nelly to send a couple of targeted messages to this demographic.
To begin with, he looks tough and commanding. His shirt is off, revealing his muscles, and his head is tilted to give the appearance of looking down on the viewer. He looks intimidating, as if he could physically beat someone up for making fun of his drinking milk. He’s serious, not smiling–which can be seen as a gesture of appeasement.
The impression of physical strength is important. Many milk campaigns focus on their product as instrumental in building a strong, healthy body. A couple of past campaign slogans come to mind: “Milk does a bodygood”; “every body needs milk.” Instead of its calories giving him a “milk belly,” Nelly has the tattoo “Got Milk?” scrawled over his flat abs.
The use of pseudo “tats” in the ad function to suggest that he is also streetwise, rebellious, hip, and edgy. In addition, since people often get an image tattooed on their body because the concept it conveys means so much to them, the inked phrases here link Nelly’s relationship with milk to his identity.
But Nelly’s power is not just physical or psychological. Whenever a celebrity is given an ad endorsement, they are picked because they project attributes that the company wants to associate with their product. As a music star, Nelly possesses power as a result of his fame, acclaim, and wealth.
Besides conveying power, the image of Nelly also suggests that he possesses another aspect of traditional masculinity: virility. This is suggested by the way his hand is pulling his pants down, and the phallic placement of his “#1” bling. This is also another reason why he is posed bare-chested.
As opposed to this power and control projected by Nelly in this milk ad, when women are depicted in advertising, they are often presented as passive sex objects–offers as opposed to demands. In a moment, I’ll ask you to view a TED talk by Jean Kilbourne in which she examines the portrayal of women in advertising. Before we go there, however, I’d like to lay the groundwork for her talk by having you read the excerpt from John Berger’s “Ways of Seeing,” in your Reading Culture text (193-201). Although Berger here is concerned with the image of the female nude in European painting, a lot of what he says carries over into contemporary images from advertising–and in real life beyond.
Begin by reading the first seven paragraphs of the essay. In them, Berger states that in our society, “men act and women appear” (194). Just as Nelly conveyed a demand in which he sought to assert power and higher status over the male viewer, Berger argues that the social presence of a male in our society is determined by a sense of “what he is capable of doing to you or for you” (193). In the case of Nelly, because of his fame, wealth and contacts, he might get you a job or make you part of his entourage (i.e., do for you). Physically, his muscled form suggests that he could beat you up if he wished (i.e., do to you).
Women’s social presence, on the other hand, suggests what “can or cannot be done” to them. Look at the file of this ad for the Beckham’s new line of colognes. While David Beckham’s making a demand in the ad, Victoria Beckham represents an offer. Look at how she passively allows him to lift the side of her negligee so that he can expose her body to the viewer (i.e., what can be done to her). He’s in charge of this encounter. She’s a trophy wife being shown off to the viewer, a testament to David Beckham’s importance and status. Here is the link to the ad: reading gaze-1.jpg
Berger is writing in the 1970’s, and he is not endorsing these ideas–in fact, he says that these beliefs “are at last being questioned”–but he’s just pointing out that traditionally, women have been “born into the keeping of men.” Because their fortunes have frequently risen or fallen in terms of their relationship with a man, they have often been rewarded if they pleased men. Since beauty was–and is–seen as a highly valued commodity for women to possess, Berger explains that they are socialized to be aware of how they look at all times, even while “walking across a room” or “weeping at the death” of a parent (194). You’d think that these would be completely unselfconscious moments, but even then, according to Berger, women’s internalization of the male gaze forces them to survey themselves constantly. The “cost” is that of a woman’s “self being split into two” (193).
There are other costs as well. Because women are encouraged to compete for men on the basis of beauty, it can cause women to be unfairly scolded for vanity. This competition between women can also be unhealthy, and I would add to Berger’s argument to say that it can cause women’s deep friendships to be unfairly trivialized. A male friend asked me a couple of years ago if it was true that two women can’t be in a room for five minutes without fighting. I told him “uh . . . no,” but he’s not the only one who believes this harmful stereotype. Sometimes women internalize it, too.
I want to look at one last concept from Berger before we move on to Kilbourne’s talk. On page 196, Berger defines the difference between nakedness and nudity. I don’t know about you, but before reading Berger, I used these terms interchangeably. In fact, a couple of years back, during a class discussion on nudity in film, one of my students did the same. “I don’t see what the big deal is about nudity in film,” he said, “I see more nudity in my shower every day than I ever see on the screen.” In contrast, Berger would say that he actually sees nakedness in his shower and nudity in film. “To be naked is to be oneself,” he writes. “To be nude is to be seen naked by others and yet not recognized for oneself” (196)
Nakedness, therefore, is the body in its natural, unclothed state. Nudity, on the other hand, is a form of spectacle; there is an understood audience, and one is playing a kind of role. There is an element of artifice, of posing, of clever lighting and artful angles. I saw an actor interviewed years ago, and she said of her upcoming movie that audiences had seen her character nude, but they had never seen her naked. They saw her playing a role, but even though it was her physical body, they had never seen her natural, unclothed, unselfconscious, private self. And today, many times it isn’t even the actor’s actual body shown on the screen; there can be a body double or even an amalgamation of different body parts from different women. In advertising, the body and face can also undergo computer manipulation. Look at this Dove video portraying how a model’s image is altered before being displayed on a billboard:
Dove Evolution Commercial higher quality
Link
As you watch Jean Killbourne’s TED talk, think about how some of these ideas from Berger’s 1972 text still carry over into advertising featuring women today. Kilbourne thinks that the portrayals of women are dangerous–to women, to men, and to society. As you watch, think about whether you agree with her or not, and why.
The dangerous ways ads see women

Now that you’ve done the readings and watched Kilbourne’s video, I’d like you to participate in a discussion on women in advertising.
INSTRUCTIONS: Begin by making a substantive post of at least SIX sentences, using standard edited English. In it, argue whether or not you agree with Kilbourne and why. If you agree with her, explain why and take her argument further with additional reasons or evidence. If you disagree with her, explain why and provide evidence to back up your assertions. This first post is due by Wednesday, September 1st.
Next, post a substantive reply to at least ONE other student’s post by Friday, September 3rd. If you agree with the ideas, state why and try to take them further. If you disagree, do so respectfully and with a professional tone. Courteously explain why and provide convincing support.
I look forward to reading through your discussion posts. I also look forward to discussing images of men in advertising in the next assignment in this unit. In the meantime, you can be noticing ads around you–tv commercials, billboards, magazine ads–that depict men. What messages are they sending about what it means to be a man in our society? Do you think these portrayals of men and of masculinity are harmful? Why or why not?
Please note that the ad you decide to choose does not have to have anything to do with gender. We’re just covering this idea because it does appear in a lot of ads, and if it does in yours, you’ll be well-positioned to write about it.
In the prior assignment, we looked at Jean Kilbourne’s TED talk analysis of depictions of women in advertising. This time, we’ll talk about representations of men and masculinity in ads. When you look at billboards, commercials, and print ads which hawk products to men, how is manhood depicted? What specific messages are conveyed to men and boys about how they should act, appear, and think of themselves?
Whereas Jean Kilbourne has been studying the representation of women in ads since the 1970’s, producing four videos and a TED talk, touring the country to address college campuses, and writing a full-length book, I’ve had a harder time finding something comparable to show about men in advertising. The COC library had an old video cassette called Stale Roles and Tight Buns that I used to show my classes sometimes, but the ads were really out-of-date, and the presentation was sometimes unintentionally funny. What I’ve decided to do for this discussion board is to show you some ads depicting men as well as a video clip featuring Jackson Katz. He’s a well-known advocate for interrogating harmful stereotypes perpetuated in our society about men, including through the media. He is also an anti-violence educator.
So here are some of the ways in which men are portrayed:
1. Men’s bodies are increasingly highlighted in ads. As Jean Kilbourne said in her TED talk, men’s bodies are often made bigger in ads, and the focus is on their muscles and physical strength.
We saw the Dove video, Evolution, which demonstrated how a model’s face was dramatically transformed before it appeared on a billboard. Here is a video clip which shows how computer technology is used to alter a male model’s face and body. This video is a little long, so when I show it in class, I usually start it at 2:23.
dove campaign for real beauty (male version)

Here is a Dolce and Gabbana cologne ad which similarly highlights the male model’s muscles to sell its product. The setting is the Coliseum, and his poses are reminiscent of a gladiator (so he’s conveying a warrior message as well) and of a classic statue representing idealized male beauty:
Dolce & Gabbana The One Sport parfum commercial

This focus on physical strength is one reason why ads often portray blue collar workers, such as construction workers, cowboys or fire fighters. Fire fighters also fit another stereotype found in ads aimed at men: the hero figure.
Ads often use phallic objects when depicting men. In this ad, both the rifle and the log serve in this capacity:
gun ad.jpg
2. It’s been said that women are sex objects and men are success objects. Males in ads are often shown as being in competition with each other, as being successful within their professions, as wealthy, and as associated with material rewards, such as fancy cars and lavish lifestyles. Here’s an ad in that vein:
Hennessy – Never Stop Never Settle
Hennessy – Never Stop Never Settle
3. Confident leadership, oneupmanship, and a dominating attitude are often associated with men in ads. Here are two sports ads depicting competitive males–one with a quiet, determined focus and leadership, and the other with brutal power and killer attitude:
advertisement men Reebok Mens Health magazine.jpg
advertisement men watch TAGHeuer GQ magazine.jpg
Males are often presented as being inherently superior to females. For example, with its sales falling and brand recognition fading, Dockers started a “Wear the Pants” campaign. It resulted in greater brand recognition, and their sales shot up 200%. Here’s a copy of the man-ifesto that appeared in many of these ads, followed by one of their commercials:
“Once upon a time, men wore the pants, and wore them well. Women rarely had to open doors and little old ladies never crossed the street alone. Men took charge because that’s what they did. But somewhere along the way, the world decided it no longer needed men. Disco by disco, latte by foamy non-fat latte, men were stripped of their khaki’s and left stranded on the road between boyhood and androgyny. But today, there are questions our genderless society has no answers for. The world sits idly by and cities crumble, children misbehave and those little old ladies remain on one side of the street. For the first time since bad guys, we need heroes. We need grown-ups. We need men to put down the plastic fork, step away from the salad bar and untie the world from the tracks of complacency. It’s time to get your hands dirty. It’s time to answer the call of manhood. It’s time to wear the pants.”
[HD] Exclusive Dockers I Wear No Pants 2010 SuperBowl 44 XLIV Commercial Ad

This campaign also employs irreverent humor, one of the tactics advertisers frequently use when selling to men, especially young men.
4. Men are shown as independent and self-reliant.Notice how they are often shown as solitary figures in ads. When men are shown in groups, they are often not looking at each other, perhaps because of the heteronormative fear of being perceived as gay.
This Copenhagen ad for chewing tobacco shows a man on a motorcycle, taking a spin on the open road. Not only is he alone in the ad, but his riding a motorcycle represents freedom and engaging in a potentially dangerous pursuit–two other attributes connected with masculinity in ads.
Copenhagen ad.jpg
5. When men are in ads with women, they are often dominant. This ad for Remy Martin purports to show a romantic scene, but there’s something a little dark and disturbing about it. The amber-colored liquid dripping down her neck from the ice cube is the same color as the cognac, and it’s also in the shape of their logo: a centaur. A centaur is a mythological creature that is half-man, half-horse, and it’s associated with lust and aggressiveness. Look at how its raised spear is pointed at her exposed throat. She’s in a vulnerable pose, and is leaning back against the man who is half-supporting her. Alcohol ads aimed at men often show female inhibitions as being relaxed. His posing behind her and focus on her neck make him reminiscent of a vampire figure. This darkness in the ad is covered over by the elegance of the good-looking couple in their evening clothes and by the girlish handwriting on the ad, but it lies beneath it.
Ads aimed at men often show them as being silent with women or actively avoiding conversation altogether; for example, a De Beers diamond ad, aimed at men, suggested that the gift of a diamond pendant would shut up a nagging wife who wanted to spend more time together–when the husband would rather hang out with his buddies:
As Jean Kilbourne points out in Killing Us Softly 3, ads like these can make for pretty terrible relationships when women tend to bond by spending time together, talking and sharing secrets. Many enter relationships with men hoping to find a partnership with a new and even closer best friend.
Ads also present polyamorous fantasies in which men, often young, ordinary-looking ones, are surrounded by multiple, sex-hungry beauties, such as this ad for Tag cologne:
tag ad 1.jpg
Disturbingly, ads sometimes show men as being violent toward women, as Kilbourne pointed out in her TED talk.
These messages that associate masculinity with a propensity toward violence are addressed by Jackson Katz in the video clip below. It’s about his first video, Tough Guise (“Guise” as in a metaphoric mask that males wear, and “guys” as in males). He has since made Tough Guise 2.
tough guise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyK4bpWZm
6. Whereas men are often depicted as being aggressive and angry in the media, they are often encouraged to be stoic or emotionless in other situations, as Jackson Katz discusses above. Another scene that occurs to me, played for comedy, is Tom Hank’s character in A League of Their Own asserting that “there’s no crying in baseball.”
There’s No Crying in Baseball – A League of Their Own (5/8) Movie CLIP (1992) HD
There’s No Crying in Baseball – A League of Their Own (5/8) Movie CLIP (1992) HD
7. Masculinity, in our society, is often presented as rejecting femininity, as with this Corona ad in which the other males in the ad are smirking at the idea of a dancing male. The football player who used to take ballet lessons is now engaging in extreme feats of strength to show that he has shrugged off the stigma of his former “girlish” pastime. Scroll down to see the ad.
https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/print/corona_beer_ballet
Jean Kilbourne points out in her videos that this rejection of the feminine leads males to reject human qualities within themselves that have been gendered feminine, such as nurturing, cooperation, compassion. These are human qualities–both men and women possess them–and they’re important for the health of society, but we consistently devalue them.
8. Sometimes men are presented as caring, loving fathers, but these ads often appear in women’s magazines. Here are a couple of examples:
martex ad.jpg
advertisement men father and child GQ magazine.jpg
DIRECTIONS FOR THE ASSIGNMENT:
Now that you’ve read through the observations about how ads and other media tend to define masculinity and manhood, I’d like you to make a substantive post of at least SIX sentences expressing your thoughts on the subject by Friday, September 3rd. Here are some ideas about the kinds of things you might write about:
1. Do you agree that manhood is portrayed in these ways in advertising? If you can add additional messages that marketers aim at men, you may point them out and give examples. If you think that these depictions are changing, you might write about some of the new ways in which manhood is being modeled for a younger generation.
OR
2. We’re looking primarily at traditional marketing campaigns here, but what is going on on social media? What messages about masculinity are being promoted on those sites? What sort of impact are these having?
OR
3. Do you agree with Jackson Katz that the messages we see about what it means to be a man in our society are harmful? If so, how? Do you have any specific examples to provide? If you think they’re not harmful–for example, sometimes my students will argue that they’re instead motivating–explain why you think so.

Last Completed Projects