My humble opinion

ok- here's my personal opinion:

I don't believe I, as a woman, am turned on to a product by seeing an advertisement utilizing sex appeal. In fact, I think that women are much more keen to consubstantiality than sex appeal. In many of the sex ads, women as the advertisers focus, I desired to be like that women, have what that women had, and look like that women looked like.

In the most recent ads that I have posted, advertisers have tried to appeal to female demographic. In my humble opinion, it isn't effective. Men are sexually/visually turned on: women aren't. Seeing a sexy man in the nude isn't going to make me want a specific brand of toilet paper, a "naturally soft" laundry detergent, or even a wedding dress. In fact, I find that more offensive than persuasive.

What about the rest of you? Do you find an ad like this persuasive or not?

This ad is a great example of my point. I find it flagrantly disrespectful and crass. Sexual appeal is not always appropriate, especially advertising something as important and sanctified as marriage. The naked man in the background is in no way selling me this dress...

I'm very interested in hearing other peoples' opinions...

Sexy Toilet Paper

Ok, here's another... A sex ad geared towards women.

I pose the same questions- is it effective?

Is sex capable of selling a household product such as toilet paper?

For every girl out there: what do you think the underlying meaning is behind this image? Is sex a reasonable advertisement for household products?


Technically that is what this ad is saying... Women can buy everyday necessities, but this brand is so much better because we can buy into the ideal that by using this TP, we will somehow look like these models or be like them in some way...

It sounds crazy, but somehow effective...

What are your thoughts?

All the single ladies!

LADIES- this is for you!

Are you persuaded by this sex ad? Does seeing a naked man in an advertisement turn you on like Paris Hilton gets every guy in America to buy a burger?

Are you persuaded?

Is this technique effective on a female demographic?

you tell me....

Go Vegetarian?

Here is another EXTREME:

Go Vegetarian?

Even vegetarian advertisements have resorted to the ideology of "sex sells." There are countless ads of this nature- ads that use female nudity ot splash this lifestyle across the media. Is it effective?

This week I was reading an article about sex in the media. Dissent, Injustice, and the Meaning of America, by Steven Shiffrin, states that advertising promotes a sexist culture. The appeal of many commercials is explicitly sexual, and women are depicted as sex objects and subordinate creatures.

Do you think Shiffrin has a good point?

Do these ads depict women as sexual objects? How about subordinate?

Paris and Carl's Junior: a sexy burger

Ok... Now that we have some theoretical knowledge under our belts, we can start to really delve into some famous "sex ads."

First off: FOOD!!!

Many of you have seen this commercial- The first time I saw it, I honestly thought it was a wildly erotic way of selling bathing suits. I even would have gone for a place like Octopus, just trying to sell a car wash. I soon came to find out that someone who can't even eat an entire hamburger is selling hamburgers. Twisted huh? Let's take a look...



What were your first impressions?

Were you confused by the subtly in this ad?

Do you think this type of ad is effective? Why or why not?

Personally, I am convinced that this ad is geared towards one particular audience- three guesses as to whom? The ad is quite effective in aiming towards that audience and striking with deadly force. Also, the ambiguity in the beginning (the ad doesn't advertise its product until the very end) creates an even more heightened sense of longing and desire...

Let's say you're sitting on your couch and this ad comes on the TV. You are watching it with anticipation, an anticipation that only grows with a lack of information. Does the ambiguity make you desire the product more?

Seriously... who wouldn't drive to carl's junior after this advertisement hit the air?

1984- Conformity versus Independence

The Macintosh 128K was released on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a graphical user interface rather than a command line interface. Macintosh was also the first lucrative personal computer to use images, rather than text, to communicate.

1984, the name of the commercial, used an unnamed heroine to represent the coming of the Macintosh (indicated by her white tank top with a picture of Apple’s Macintosh computer on it) as a means of saving humanity from "conformity." These images were an allusion to George Orwell's noted novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, which described a dystopian future ruled by a televised "Big Brother."


What are your thoughts?
What is the symbolism in this contrast between black and white?

The location of the dystopian society is very bleak, dreary, and dark. But note that the heroine in the advertisement is wearing a white shirt and she has almost white hair...


more on white in the coming posts...

Symbolism of darkness

(It is hard to read, but the text on the bottom reads, "smoking isn't just suicide, its murder.")

This is a very persuasive and almost morbid anti-smoking advertisement. Let's take a different approach to analysis than we have in previous posts, shall we?

This is a very dark advertisement with a very dark message.

Is a black background appropriate?

Does the blackness in the ad present a specific mood?

What kind of symbolism does the black background have?
(use the explanation of the color black given in the previous post)

The answers to these questions can be quite personal... The dark nature of the ad can be interpreted as evil, as power, or even as emptiness. I am interested to hear your analyses.

Gender Specific- Yay or Nay?

As previously mentioned, as opposed to emotionally warm colors like red, orange, and yellow, BLUE is linked to consciousness and intellect.

But is this color gender specific? One study says that blue is highly accepted among males, but another says it has no gender specificity. Here is an ad that i want each of you to examine and give me your feedback on. There are several messages being presented, and each observer might analyze the gender roles differently. When looking at this ad, try and step away from your initial observations; look at it objectively...

What is the message?
How do you think the advertiser is using blue to relay their message?
Do you think this ad is more appealing to men or women?
Does the blue surrounding accentuate the male or the female?

Here is my personal assessment...

I believe that blue is not a gender specific color in this specific ad. There is a clear purpose, and colors are used to achieve that purpose. To me, the blue in the ad accentuates the man and woman, but in separate ways. His stance gives him power, he has his legs firmly planted, he has his blue power suit on, and you can't see his face, which is another domineering gesture; he is indescribable and yet attractively attainable.

The woman, on the other hand, is not seemingly submissive. Instead she is alluring and identifiable. (Kenneth Burke has some very interesting ideas on identification, and I will delve into that subject in posts soon to come.) The woman has her own power; she is provocative. The blue surrounding her, also reflecting in her glasses, accentuates her as well. She is beautiful, collected and unabashed by this mans stance. She holds power, but in a completely different way than the man.

What are your thoughts? There is no right or wrong answer:)

NSYNC- It takes me back!

This is visually stunning. The entire video is made up of light blues and tans and browns- and then the box is dropped....

Makes you hungry for some ribs doesn't it?

Poor cows...

• What is the message of this ad?

• What does your eye gravitate toward?

• How does the red title contrast with the black and white?

• How are these advertisers getting you to become aware of their product?