Women are strong and independent, we always have been. But until the past couple decades, it hasn't properly been displayed in advertising. I guess it was reasonable in a sense to show women using household products like selling this cleaning machine since most women during a time were homemakers.
But being a homemaker/housewife doesn't make you dumb or less equal of a human being. In the ad below, it is advertising men's ties. By wearing this tie, you are showing that this is a man's world and women are just living in it. The way the woman is looking down, how she is smaller than her male counterpart, and her feminine touch serving the man breakfast in bed shows typical stereotypes of women.
Today, ads are much less obvious in gender roles and stereotypes. It is more common for women to show strength and power. In this Nike ad, the woman looks muscular and not very delicate and feminine. The message shows empowerment not only to herself, but to other women that you don't have to be a size 2 or fit into the media norms to be beautiful.
But then again, some ads make women look stupid. In this ad with Zoeey Deschanel, she has to ask her iPhone everything. Even if it is raining outside, when it is clearing raining outside. If you aren't familiar with Zoeey's personality, she is naturally cute and quirky, but I could see if other people take this commercial the wrong way.
I don't really like crime shows, but Hawaii 5-0 is my exception. It is about a special crime unit based in Hawaii. The main characters are a navy seal, Steve McGarrett, a police officer from New Jersey, Danny, former Hawaii PD officer, Chen Kelly, and rookie, Kono. Most of the shows deal with murder victims and kidnappings, the usual stuff happening in paradise.
Hawaii 5-0 is a remake from a 1970's version. In the 1970's show, everyone was white. This show does have white people on the task force, but there are also a fair amount of native Hawaiians and pacific islanders on the show. This is important because having an all white cast isn't very accurate. Having a female on the show, Kono protrays asian women in a different light. In this show, she kicks ass and is very independent, very different from the typical asian stereotype.
Although she is a badass on the show, in the first season, was always thrown in to be the decoy for finding the criminals. She had to play a prostitute, a sexy waitress in lingerie, and a bimbo driving a classic car. She was the rookie on the team, but for some reason they always made her do the easiest jobs, or play the damsel in distress.
(Please excuse the first 30 seconds of Kono just surfing.)
Of course, it is not right to racially stereotype for advertisements sake, but how can you not? How do you make an advertisement pop, be memorable without focusing on a certain group/type of people. Although its wrong to put one racial group in a negative light to sell something, I think stereotyping is somewhat necessary to get a point across to a certain group of people. In the infamous Jamaican superbowl commerical this year, many may see this as a negative view of islanders. But I don't find his happy go lucky attitude on life negative. Its light-hearted and sweet. Something is going to offended no matter what an advertisement amount, just realizing the risk you take is what is important.
Semiotics are important to advertising in many ways, especially when analyzing and understanding visual advertising. When looking at a TV commercial, a billboard, or a magazine ad, we can use semiotics to decode and encode the meaning in messages.
In this first image, it shows Ronald McDonald in a draped garnment, with the same pose as Lady Liberty. The end of the torch even has a McDonald's arch instead of fire. With hundreds upon thousands of McDonalds locations in the United States alone, this ad replacing Lady Liberty for Mr.McDonald shows how American getting a burger is. McDonalds is tradition and a place that people can count on no matter where they are in the states.
This next commericial is for SkinnyGirl cocktails. SkinnyGirl has a line of different alcoholic beverages that are focused towards women because of the low calorie and sugar in their drinks. In the commericial, they show a very poised women giving tips on "how to be a lady." That is, to sit right, to wear the right shoes, and to behave in a certain matter. After she gives a tip, there is video of girls having a good time and just relaxing breaking all of the "lady rules." This video shows that you don't need to be perfect and lady like all the time. Drinking SkinnyGirl allows you to cut loose and have fun, without worrying about sitting up straight.
The last ad is a billboard for Victoria Secret. It shows a Victoria Secret Angel with a seductive look on her face. Over her chest area, there is a huge barcode. And other than the barcode, she isn't wearing anything other than pink, fluffy wings. With the new QR codes, you can scan them by taking a picture onto your phone to get more information about a product. Although this ad is trying to sell bras, making its buyers take the time to stop and take a picture of this QR code, it is selling sex. People want to see, what is under that huge barcode? It is a bra? Or is nothing?
Being a frugal shopper, I hate to say brands run our lives, but they do. I spend $2.15 on a cup of tea from Starbucks almost every morning. I could probably make the same cup at home for much less. I prefer Starbucks tea rather than a cup from home because in my mind, I think it has better quality. And a part of me thinks I'm kind of cool walking around with a cup of Starbucks, hoping maybe someone will ask me what I'm sipping on, and I could then share a little part of me through a 32oz cup.
Advertising is meant not only to sell a product, but to sell a
lifestyle. And branding builds onto selling a lifestyle, giving its
consumer an identity. People who sport certain brands hope to help
ensure their status in this world. My first thoughts when seeing someone
driving a Porsche is that the person behind the wheel is successful in
their career and is comfortable with their finances. Just by one single
brand, you can infer what the person is like, possibly that they are
well educated, and maybe that they have gotten a few speeding tickets.
An important part of a brand creating identity is that the brand is relevant. Everyone wants to keep up with the Jones' (or maybe its the Kardashians) and nobody wants knock offs. A brand needs to continue developing, changing, and going with the swing of society. Yet, brands need to still bring their quality that they started with. I work in retail and all of our products are very natural. Keeping with the natural ingredients, most of the makeup came in natural colors. But a new audience, 18-24 year olds, they usually don't want a natural look. Its interesting to see my store's transition from natural to vibrant to stay relevant to new audiences.
