Post 3: Advertising Dangers

Advertising constantly bombards us no matter where we are or what we’re doing. Although many ads can seem harmless the placement and the inner messages can shape the way we see gender, sexuality, and race. Advertising is a part of a larger system and in that system the power resonates with old white men. Many ads are then created by people who have no idea what the viewers want, so in turn they use stereotypes to gage some level of connection. Particularly for minority groups, ads can be very harming and because advertising is so prominent for all age groups, it damages the way people grow up and how they shape their lives.

In Gloria Steinem’s essay “Sex, Lies, and Advertising,” she talks about creating her own magazine Ms. and the struggle she had with advertisers and the world of advertising. Steinem wanted Ms. to have ads that were not the stereotypical and sexist ads that were constantly plastered everywhere. Most advertisements for women, feature women as housewives, and the ads are usually for cleaning supplies, hair supplies, makeup, and things that are considered feminine. Ads that are targeted for females are very stereotypical and are usually nothing of substances. For instance, there are never ads in female magazines about insurance or cars because they are not seen as for women, even though many women need these products. One particular thing that is never seen in women’s magazines is alcohol. According to Steinem “traditionally, wines and liquors didn't advertise to women: men were thought to make the brand decisions, even if women did the buying,” (Steinem 4). Advertising for alcohol usually portrays a very stereotypical hyper-masculine ideal. In this ad for Heineken the ad is very sexual assuming that it is for men because advertisers believe that men have a one track mind, which can be very harming for both males and females.

coloribus.com

Advertising can also hurt the LGBTQ market because they are not seen as profitable. Even when there are ads for them they are often hidden because they would not want to hurt the heterosexual market. In Danae Clark’s “Commodity Lesbianism” she writes about how advertisers want to be a part of the LGBTQ market but only if the ads can appeal to everyone. Clark writes, “Advertisers are increasingly striving to create a dual marketing approach” this way they can try to speak to a homosexual consumer but without making it prominent and not to irritate the straight consumer (Clark 143).  This can be extremely problematic because it produces a stigma that the LGBTQ market is something bad and that there is more importance on the straight market. Advertisers use “Gay window ads,” which, “ avoid explicit references to heterosexuality by depicting only one individual or same-sexed individuals within the representational frame” (Clark 144). These “gay window ads” will continue to largely affect the LGBTQ community because they are never put above anything and are seen as second to everyone else. The power in advertising continues to be overrun with unfair, prejudicial, sexist, and unrealistic ideal.

As stated before, ads targeted for women are very stereotypical and sexist. They portray women as one type and they have to fit to rigid and unrealistic standards. In "Where the Girls Are" by Susan Douglas she writes, “The media, of course, urged us to be pliant, cute, sexually available, thin, blond, poreless, wrinkle-free, and deferential to men.” (Douglas 9). Advertisements are always made by men and even when they are supposed to target women it always has a male centered focus. For example, many women use menstrual products, yet every commercial for pads or tampons is unrealistic and uses a blue liquid to somehow represent what it’s actually like. In these commercials women are almost always wearing white and having fun, doing “everyday things”. In Cosmo Magazine there are constantly print advertising for pads and tampons, often using this blue liquid and a witty caption about it capturing every leak. In this parody they uses a red liquid and also makes fun of the fact that the actor can “do anything”.  This parody represents the inaccuracies about periods that are constantly shown in ads and how extremely unrealistic they are. Although some companies like U by Kotex  have tried to talk about unrealistic pad and tampon commercials, big name companies like Playtex still continue to use impracticable commercials. Another unrealistic expectation of women in advertising is the idea of being a housewife. In Jean Kilbourne’s "Beauty and the Beast of Advertising", She writes that in ads “Women are shown almost exclusively as housewives as sex objects.” (Kilbourne 122).  These ads are designed to make it seem that a women only have a primary role as a housewife and they have no outside lives or jobs besides taking care of the home. In this article the author writes about how many ads today show women and men constantly being one dimensional. Many cleaning supply commercials show women primarily doing the cleaning and men just lazing around. This shows both parties in a bad light because they are confined to these sexist and rigid stereotypes.

As someone who consumes media everyday it is impossible not to be bombarded by advertisements. As a teen I used to watch a show called Teen Wolf, I remember constantly during the show the characters could be seen driving the newest Toyota car, using the new radio system, and raving about how good it was. During the breaks there would be Toyota commercials and sometimes they had commercials with the cast.  The advertising was strategically placed because many viewers were kids in their teens who would soon be getting licenses and who were very impressionable. The advertising structure combined MTV shows with Toyota to create unique commercials that would draw in the viewers. This multimedia system of combining multiple media conglomerates with other conglomerates shows that there is only a small number of power structures making it difficult to create different ideals. Another example of this specific type of advertising is during Shonda Rhimes’ shows. The show scandal is one of the most popular shows on television today. During the show there are often commercials for female dominated products, one in particular is Plan B. The show features a very strong female lead and often portrays her love life. Immediately during the commercial break there is usually a commercial for Plan B, there is an immediate comparison factor and it shows the power advertisers have in their placement.    

Advertisements are such a major part of everyday life and in order to make our voice heard and to properly criticize these companies we have to better understand where they are coming from. There are very few media conglomerates and together they own many of the companies that are used for advertising, because of this it is very difficult to get any ideas out that aren’t the “norm”. Advertisements are a major part of our lives and in order to change them we have to understand them.

Work Cited Page:

Clark, Danae. Commodity Lesbianism. Routledge, 1993.

Douglas, Susan J. Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media. Times Books, 1995.

Kilbourne, Jean. Beauty and the Beast of Advertising.

Steinem, Gloria. Sex, Lies, and Advertising. 1990.