Things changed but maybe not for the better, the 60's saw the women coming out of the kitchens into the living rooms enticing the men with beverages.
These days anything goes suggestive, raunchy, sexy to the down right offensive. The following pics were just some of the few I found.
What is curious is many of these ads are fast food, burgers and such. So why is this? I think the percentage of men who frequent fast food joints is much higher than women and they need something to feel good about since they are ingesting so much grease! This gives them the validation that they need. The ideas from when boys are younger and have the fixation with their mothers who generally feed and nurture them continue on into adulthood. So thanks for getting us out of the kitchen but for heaven's sake give us some clothes!!!
Just for fun....
Bakerella
Some good analysis of the old ads, Bakerella - how do romantic tropes appear in the Pepsi Ad to make it more appealing? as a way to sell the product? [I especially liked the romantic triangle, in which the lady carrying the Pepsi wins ... or, maybe the Pepsi itself wins, since that's what the man grabs first?]
ReplyDeleteThe Doctor
I find the Burger Kind ad with the women laying on the beach extremely sexist and I continue to ask, "What does this half naked women laying in the sand have to do with a burger?" Im guessing companies use sexism in their advertisements to grab the attention of consumers. I find it ironic how women have fought long and hard to gain equality and respect amoung men. Yet numerous women continue to degrade themselves and allow their bodies to be used as an object for men to stare at and gock at. Yet, on the other hand men do the same thing in advertisements where they show their six pack and muscles, but for some reason I find it degrading to women to do this rather than men. Advertisements like this trope womens femininity.
ReplyDeleteApplezNBananaz
It is odd how I didn't really notice the use of romance in all of these advertisements until being made aware of it. I feel as though it would have been a harder assignment to try and find advertisements that don't use romance and sex to sell products!
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I really liked the point you made Bakerella about how men need the validation to eat unhealthy! It makes perfect sense, because just like ApplezNBananaz pointed out, "What does this half naked woman laying in the sand have to do with a burger?" Its absolutely ludicrous! But then this got me to thinking about the real reason she is lying on the sand next to a burger. It's obvious isn't it? Romance and sex aren't used in advertising to just target women but men as well!! The ads you posted (particularly the one of the woman on the sand and the Burger King one) show how men are also sold this idea of "ideal romance". The beautifully slender, white, passive, sexualized woman is placed next to these food items in order to possibly fulfill some sort of psychological need or fantasy that patriarchy instills in men. Men are shown through ads that women above all must be beautiful according to conventional standards. Not only that, but they are taught women must be the passive ones in the relationship(surely the ad of the woman with her mouth wide open, just waiting for the submarine sandwich to enter her mouth is highly suggestive of this). Luckily for men though, these fantasies probably tend to be fulfilled much better by institutions in a patriarchal society than they are for women. Therefore, am I crazy to think that romance in advertisements effects the psyche of men just as much as it does women? Any thoughts?
Cheers
The Veiled Interpreter