Advertisements are the bane of the Devil. After nearly three decades of being bombarded by marketers telling me exactly what it is I need to buy in order to be happy, I have developed the superhuman power to ignore them. I don't look at the ads in the paper, on the web, and I don't watch commercials on television. Nor do I hear them if I am listening to the radio.But rarely, I find an advertisement that strikes me for some reason or another. While I was on the web today, I came across an advertisement that struck a chord when I saw it. The advertisement itself did not offend me; it was the inferred message that did.
Have a good look at the accompanying advertisement and consider what you see. Read the text and put it into context of the image. This advertisement says a lot more than what fifteen words can say.
We all know that "sex sells"; sex is primal, and we all think about it -- probably more often than we know or care to admit. The use of attractive models to sell a product or service has been the primary ammunition of the marketing arsenal since the sexual revolution (and probably much longer than that). This advertisement is no different.
What bothers me the most about this advertisement is that the caption that says: "Find True Love", while right above it is a pair of beautifully-crafted breasts. The ad does not show the model's face, nor does it say anything about her personality or her interests. The entire focus of the ad is on her "assets" -- and what this ad is telling me is that true love can be found within a nice pair of breasts.
The top caption of the ad covers the model's face -- not unlike placing a paper bag over her head. This just further supports the objectification and subjugation of women. In this case, her face is unimportant, as well as her personality or feelings. The only thing that is important in this ad, is that she has a nice rack, and it is wet. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to deduce that a wet body is symbolic of a female's readiness for copulation. Believe it or not, this ad infers these messages.
Look at the models' body language. Although you cannot see much of her, a lot can be said about the pose conveying a highly sexual message. The body is wet. You cannot see the model's face, but it appears to be turned in a upward direction, exposing the neck (another non-verbal message of vulnerability). The arms are lifted above the body to provide extra definition to the breasts. The arms also leave the sensual parts of the female body exposed, as an unwritten message to viewing males that she is leaving herself vulnerable to sexual exploitation. By this, her body language tells you she wants to be touched, invaded, even controlled.
I wish people weren't portrayed as objects in advertisements. Even male models are exploited with their washboard abs and huge pectorals. It just sends such an inaccurate message to our youth about what is considered desirable in our culture. Ads like this is exactly why there are so many teenage boys shooting up on steroids, and so many girls starving themselves to death.
We don't always notice them, but we are bombarded with these messages on such a regular basis, that they manifest themselves in our subconsciousness. There will be no end to the usage of sex in advertising. We will never win a direct battle against the corporate monolith of the advertisement; but we can educate ourselves and identify the messages that permeate our livelihood. We can make a difference; we can choose. We can choose to ignore the messages that exploit women, the human body, human sexuality, or other abominations of the human spirit.
I highly suggest you read Naomi Kleins' masterpiece, No Logo. There are copies available on Amazon.com for a couple of dollars. It is one of the best books I have ever read, and it has changed the way I think and feel about big-business antics with respect to marketing and low-cost mass-production. When you are done reading it, do yourself a favor and give the book to a teenaged relative. Even if it takes them years to read the book, they will thank you for it.
