Depicting a Couple in a Sexual Manner

Depicting a Couple in a Sexual Manner

Ad #1: Unforgivable Women This advertisement is selling the product Unforgivable Women the fragrance for women. The ad s target audience would be women, probably as young as 18 or early 20 s. I don t think this ad would appeal to younger girls in their teens because the ad does not contain teenage girl s interests. There aren t very many bright colors to attract a girls attention and the man is not shown in a sexualized way so their attention probably isn t drawn too much. I also think that their target audience includes men because the picture shows male dominance and men tend to like that sense of being in control, so this picture would grab their attention. People who are exposed to ads daily and who know the techniques advertisers use will most likely be drawn to this ad as apposed to people whose culture does not expose them to ads daily. Although, this could be the opposite. It could be that the people who s culture does not expose them to ads might be drawn to this kind of dominate ad because they are not familiar with it. The message of this ad is not right there when you look at it. It doesn t say on the ad what you will achieve when you buy the product but it is implied. The message that is implied by this ad is simply if women buy this perfume then men will want them. The man in the picture looks like he wants to take control of the woman and the woman looks like she has no control but also that she doesn t mind being inferior. The underlying message to men about this ad is to take control of women, and the message to women is to let men treat them this way because it is a good thing. I disagree with the message that this advertisement is showing because it gives an unrealistic view of how men and women should act around each other. The ad s message is saying it is okay for men to be dominate over women but the truth is we are all equal human beings and we all deserve to be treated with equality. I disagree with the message to women through this ad because it is telling them to just take whatever men dish out and to turn a blind eye to abuse or to put up with being bosses around by men. The aspect of human sexuality being shown is biological. The ad is implying sex. The people in the ad both look they want to have sex, so the ad is saying if you buy this perfume then you will have sex. This is a negative portrayal of sexuality because the people in the ad do not look like they want to have sex because they love each other, they are doing it because the perfume attracts the man and he is dominate so the girl will be inferior and will agree. This is a negative portrayal because in my opinion sex should not be taken for granted and used inappropriately. It is an intimate moment between two people who love each other and that is not what the ad is implying. The woman is being pushed up against the wall and it appears like she is enjoying it. The man in this ad is pushing the woman up against the wall giving her a stern controlling look. In the foreground is the product of the perfume bottle and in the background is the two models. The juxtaposition of this advertisement is that they are very close together. The man is over powering the woman because it looks like he is almost on top of her and she is underneath him. The man or woman are neither placed beside objects that send out specific messages. I would say they are both active in this ad and both play an active role. He is showing that men should be dominate and take control and she is showing women that this is okay and to like it. The man seems a bit

more eroticized than the woman. The woman looks a bit like she is scared and the man looks fully confident in what he is doing. The message I received about this relationship is that it is probably only a physical relationship. This is a negative depiction of relationships and sexuality because it gives people the impression that sex is all a man wants a woman for and that girls should just accept this, however this is wrong because men want to find loving relationship as well. Codes and conventions used in this ad would be superiority and domination, and some clowning and exaggeration. Superiority is shown in the male. He is standing behind her and is taller than the woman. He is also pushing her against the wall which shows that he has control over the woman or is dominate while she is inferior to him. Some clowning and exaggeration is used in this ad as well. She is exaggerated in a position that makes her look extremely uncomfortable and trapped by the male. This is probably used to show the dominance of the man. There is no dismemberment because they are both seen fully and intact. There doesn t seem to be any male approval because it looks like he is forcing her into something anyways. However, there is irrelevant sexualisation of the woman in this ad. She is advertising a perfume for women but that product has nothing to do with sex, it is only implying that sex comes with the product.

Ad #2: Verbal Abuse This ad does not fit particularly into one category given. However, in my opinion it is an excellent advertisement because it shows how abuse is shown through ads, the only difference about those ads and this one is that this ad is not subtle about it. Even though this ad shows men in a bad way and women as the innocent ones I think it sends a good message to people. People need to be aware that verbal abuse does happen and it happens to mostly women. This verbal kind of abuse is also shown in ads. For example, some ads have men covering a girls mouth or even a woman covering her own moth in some way while also being exposed in a sexual manor. These ads are implying that women are only meant to look good for men and that what they have to say doesn t matter. Some codes and conventions in this ad are superiority and domination, and dismemberment. In the ad it is obvious that the male is superior and dominate over the woman because he is controlling her with his words, giving the impression that women don t have a voice and men yell and verbally abuse women. Dismemberment in this ad would be of the man s arm coming out of his mouth to grab the girl in a violent way. It grabs the audience s attention so they will look at the ad.

Depicting Men in a Sexual Manner

Calvin Klein Man In this Calvin Klein advertisement the product being sold is men s fragrance called Man. The target audience for this ad would be for both men and women. This is because the man in the ad has big muscles which appeal to women which would catch their attention and take a second look and the product would remain in their brain. It would also appeal to men because some men are homosexual but also some men might see this ad and think to themselves that they want to look like that man and wonder what is necessary to gain this physique and then they see the product and feel like they should have it. An age range for the target audience of this ad would be men 20 years old to 40. The culture would exactly matter because this ad could draw anyone s attention. Also for socio-economic level of the target audience might be middle class. The message being sold by the ad is not too obvious it is implied and most people probably understand it but don t realize that it is affecting them. The message being sent to men is that if they buy this fragrance they will look as good as the man in the ad. The message to the woman is if a man wears this fragrance he is attractive and that women s boyfriends or husbands should wear this fragrance to be attracted to them. I do not agree with the message the ad is selling. This is because the message simply does not make sense. It is physically impossible that if a man wears a certain brand of fragrance he will magically turn into a buff attractive man. Another thing that contributes to the message is that the fragrance is call man, implying that if a man wears this fragrance then they will be more of a man which is known for being strong, tough, attractive, and superior. The aspect of human sexuality being shown is biological. It is implying sex because he barely has any cloths on except underwear when it isn t even an underwear commercial. This is a negative portrayal of sexuality because it tells men and women that men are only attractive if they look like the man in this ad and that is not true, there are many attractive men that don t look like something from a magazine. Also, relationships aren t always about looks and what kind of fragrance your man wears. In this ad there are different codes and conventions that make it successful. One code and convention is irrelevant sexualisation of men. This ad is selling a fragrance for men yet he is in his underwear and posing in a way that exposes his crotch. This is meant to attract people in a sexual way however the product has nothing to do with sex or almost naked men. Clowning and exaggeration isn t shown in this ad because usually women are seen as foolish or silly. However, the man is very stern, serious, brooding, and introspective. There is no male approval because he is the male and there is no one else in the photo with him or watching him. Also, there is no dismemberment because he is fully intact and it is a clear full body shot. There is also no superiority or domination because there is no other male or female there.

Depicting Women in a Sexual Manner

Burger King s Super Seven Incher This advertisement is of a new food product being sold at Burger King the fast food restaurant. The product they are advertising is called the Super Seven Incher. The target audience would be anyone who eats fast food in their life. This could range from male to female of a variety of ages, cultures, race and socio-economic levels because everybody in the world needs to eat. Their main target audience might be people with a larger apatite because the way they describe the new burger is being bigger and juicer so they might be targeting people who have a big apatite or who don t eat very healthy. They message they are sending to people is pretty much obvious to teenagers and adults because it is making a connection to a sexual action. In the ad the girl is opening her mouth very wide in front of a large ovular shaped burger and the ad saying, It will blow your mind away. They are making a connection to oral sex and women. The message they are getting across isn t about sex but it is about how the burger taste good. However, they use this kind of crude and inappropriate humor to grab people s attention, manly men s attention. I don t agree or disagree with the message about the food s taste quality but I do disagree with the way they portrayed this product and made it connect to something that has nothing to do with the product itself. It gives the slight subtle message that if you buy this burger you will get oral sex. This is a good way to make profit if you are the owner of the company because when men see this product they will think of this ad and what the woman is doing in it which could lead them into buying it. The aspect of biological sexuality is being shown. It is not in any way conveying emotions toward another person or emotional feelings of love or happiness. This is a negative portrayal of sexuality because the ad, like a lot of other ads, has women in these different poses implying sex and they make them seem like they enjoy it. Women are always shown as these sexual objects and that is what this ad is saying, that even though it is a burger ad we can make it into something sexual by adding a woman with her mouth open. A code and convention used in this advertisement would be the irrelevant sexualisation of women and girls. This code and convention is when advertisers use sex to sell a product even though the product has nothing to do with sex. In this case the ad is selling a new burger and Burger King and yet advertisers have seemed to make a connection between that and sex. Eating a sandwich has nothing to do with sex so why put a girl with her mouth open wide implying sexual activities in front of the product? Another code and convention could be clowning and dismemberment. This means that women are contorted into positions that are made to look foolish and silly. In the ad the woman has her mouth open really wide with a surprised look on her face. There is no male approval because there is no other man in the photo nor is there dismemberment of the woman being shown. Also, superiority and domination is not used as a code or convention because there is no other person to dominate over the woman.

Couples in a More Positive and Equal Manor

Life Insurance

Life Insurance The product sold in this ad is life insurance. The target audience would probably be older men or women who have families because they are looking for that kind of security in their life. The underlying message of this advertisement is that if you buy life insurance then you will be as happy as the people in theses ads look. The message is pretty obvious because the product is selling over all happiness. I agree with this message because it isn t a bad ad and doesn t expose anybody sexually. It doesn t convey a misleading message about the product and the people in the ad are not irrelevant to the product because they are showing the effects of the product. The aspect of emotional sexuality is conveyed in this advertisement. The ad shows how if you buy life insurance then emotionally you will be happy, just like the picture shows a happy couple and a happy family. This is a positive portrayal of sexuality because it doesn t show the couples in a sexual manor or that anyone is dominate over the others. In these ads the women are smiling and look secure because the male has his arms over her but not in a dominating kind of way but in a protective way. In the foreground the people smiling and there is nothing in the background probably because advertisers want people to focus on their happiness and nothing else. This is a good ad in my opinion because it doesn t have unnecessary objects in the background that have nothing to do with the product but are only used to grab attention. There isn t much juxtaposition in these ads except for the one where the man is holding his family in his arms. They placed him that close to his family because advertisers probably wanted to convey that happy family image of safety and security that comes with life insurance. There is an equal amount of people active in the ads and people not active. Everyone basically has the same expression and pose to convey happiness. Also, no one is eroticized because there is no sex being implied. The message I receive about this relationship is something that everyone should want and that everyone does strive for, perfection and happiness in their life. No one in the ad has power over anyone else, everyone is equal and this is a positive depiction of relationships and sexuality. What makes this ad a really good couple ad is that no codes or conventions are used. No one is dominate or superior of anyone else, there is no dismemberment of women s body parts, no one is contorted into any weird positions or exaggerated, the women don t look like they need approval from a man, and there is nothing in the ads that is irrelevant to the product and nothing about sex used to get attention.