Advertisement Analysis: Special K And Fashion Magazine

1143 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What role might the media have in influencing your concepts of beauty

Advertisement Analysis Essay In today’s society, more than ever there is a great importance placed on beauty. In fact beauty is often associated with self worth, especially among women. This idea that beauty is more important than anything else is prominent in the media, specifically advertisements. Advertisements present ideas of beauty that women think they must conform to in order to be beautiful. This essay will analyze two advertisements from the winter 2016 issue of Fashion Magazine. Both advertisements present very different ideas of beauty. The Erin Tracey ad reproduces the dominant ideologies of beauty, which are traditionally white and thin beautiful women. On the other hand the Special K advertisement challenges these hegemonic …show more content…

Firstly, the model has a larger body type. This is very different from most models depict in mass media. Women of large body types are often seen as undesirable. However even thought she is a different body type than normally seen the ad still reproduces dominant ideologies about body image. The text on the ad reads: “My belly is from the kids. My booty is from the gym” The ad is telling women they should be confident in their bodies no matter how they look, however at the same time it’s placing her importance on her body image. Stating that she has a nice “booty” is placing importance on her body. Once again reproducing dominant ideologies about beauty norms. In addition to her being a different body type the model is also black. As stated before it is very rare that you see black women depicted as beauty icons in mass media. At study about LIFE magazine showed that from 1936 to 2000 the number of black people depicted in the magazine ads went from just above 1% to 12% (Grady, 2007, p. 225). While the increase is good this is still a very small percentage of racialised people being presented in the mass media. All types of women are told to conform to beauty norms but black women in particular are told to conform to white heteronormativity (Sanger, 2009, p. 138). This ad in particular conforms to white heteronormativity because of her hair. As Sanger explains: “It seems that little black girls are… excepted to regulate and control their unruly hair” (Sanger, 2009, p. 143). This is seen in the Special K ad as the model has long and straight hair that is clearly not her natural hair. Since black women have been told over and over again that their hair is not beautiful they conform to the hegemonic ideas of beauty seen in mass

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Pathos In Miss Representation

    1590 Words  | 4 Pages

    This is a stereotype, which has been engraved into heads of men, women, and children. By plastering the world with models who seem to have it the genetic jackpot, Dove set out to discredit this cultural cast created by our society. Body image, to some people, is the first part of a person they notice. A study conducted by Janowsky and Pruis compared body image between younger and older women. They found that although older women “may not feel the same societal pressure as younger women to be thin and beautiful…some feel that they need to make themselves look as young as possible” (225). Since women are being faced with pressure to conform in ways that seem almost impossible, Jeffers came to the conclusion “they should create advertising that challenges conventional stereotypes of beauty” (34) after conducting various interviews with feminist scholars. The stance of Figure 1’s model screams confident. She is a voluptuous, curvy and beautiful women standing nearly butt-naked in an ad, plastered on billboards across the globe. Ultimately, she is telling women and girls everywhere that if I can be confident in my body, so can you. Jessica Hopper reveals, “some feel that the ads still rely too heavily on using sex to sell” (1). However, I feel as if these are just criticisms from others who are bitter. With the model’s hands placed assertively placed on her hips, her smile lights up the whole ad. She completely breaks the stereotype that in order to

    Read More

  • Stereotypical Homemaker Portrayal in KitchenAid's Advertisement

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    Are women still seen as being homemakers in modern-day society, and are they being sold a domestic lifestyle? It appears that Martha Stewart believes so and desires to continue a trend. For example, in the July/August 2014 issue of Martha Stewart Living, one could argue that women are stereotypically represented as being homemakers in a KitchenAid advertisement, which shows a woman placing a dirty pan in a KitchenAid dishwasher. Moreover, the eye-catching, bold headline, shown on the ad of the American home appliance brand is “cook like you don’t have to clean.” The ad goes further with promoting an ideal familial status of women by using subliminal advertising and product placement techniques to represent the ultimate kitchen. Furthermore, it targets the values and lifestyles of the typical wife with its controversial headline, and it goes on with a plain-folks pitch, which focuses on a conventional established role of women in society.

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Documentary: Killing Us Softly 4 and the Role of Women in Advertising

    533 Words  | 2 Pages

    The documentary Killing Us Softly 4 discusses and examines the role of women in advertisements and the effects of the ads throughout history. The film begins by inspecting a variety of old ads. The speaker, Jean Kilbourne, then discusses and dissects each ad describing the messages of the advertisements and the subliminal meanings they evoke. The commercials from the past and now differ in some respects but they still suggest the same messages. These messages include but are not limited to the following: women are sexual objects, physical appearance is everything, and women are naturally inferior then men. Kilbourne discusses that because individuals are surrounded by media and advertisements everywhere they go, that these messages become real attitudes and mindsets in men and women. Women believe they must achieve a level of beauty similar to models they see in magazines and television commercials. On the other hand, men expect real women to have the same characteristics and look as beautiful as the women pictured in ads. However, even though women may diet and exercise, the reality...

    Read More

  • Dangers of Advertisments in Jean Kilbourne' Killing Us Softly

    529 Words  | 2 Pages

    First, Kilbourne’s research should be praised tremendously for bringing to light the unhealthy impression of true beauty in today’s culture. Kilbourne challenges the audience to reconsider their viewpoints on advertising that is sublime with sexual language. The evolution of advertising and product placement has drastically changed the real meaning of being a woman. According to the movie, every American is exposed to hundreds and thousands of advertisements each day. Furthermore, the picture of an “ideal women” in magazines, commercials, and billboards are a product of numerous computer retouching and cosmetics. Media creates a false and unrealistic sense of how women should be viewing themselves. Instead of being praised for their femininity and prowess, women are turned into objects. This can be detrimental to a society filled with girls that are brainwashed to strive to achieve this unrealistic look of beauty.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Victoria Secret

    1466 Words  | 3 Pages

    You could say that all the casting is pretty much strategically, by choosing a certain model to play in the ad it displays a specific type of image depending on what they were going for. All of the Victoria secret models are called “Angels” and they all have social media pages with an immense fan base that steams from generally young females. The way that these “Angels” look exemplifies today’s standard of beauty that most teenage girls strive to be like, and the people at Victoria Secret know this, and use it to their advantage. However, even though this helps make profits for this multi million-dollar company, it is unfortunate that, society has plugged in to young girl’s minds that being tall and skinny with perfectly defined cheekbones and long luscious hair is what it takes to be “pretty”. In all the ads that I analyzed, the main model that is showcased is Candace Swanepol. She is an extremely attractive tall blond woman with a perfectly sculpted body. She is the face of Victoria Secret; she is what the young teenage girl mind thinks they must look like to be “pretty” or “cool”. Candace uses her looks and fame to bring engrossment to the brand name. In the ad, Victoria’s Secret Body by Victoria TV Commercial, she is wearing little to no clothing’s and you can see her toned body with out needing to take a second look. Her entire body is

    Read More

  • Propaganda from the Beauty Industry

    1213 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...r young, impressionable mind will have been exposed to more than 77,000 advertisements, according to an international study. Last week, it confirmed the link between the images of female perfection that dominate the media and increasing cases of low self-esteem among young women..” (Shields,2007). The propaganda techniques such as liking, sex appeal, and celebrity endorsements are used in advertisements constantly. Commercials on television, billboards, magazines, and various other advertisement types are everywhere you look in America, and sadly it has become very important for women of all ages to try to be perfect. We come into contact with these messages every day, and the beauty industry is getting bigger and bigger. Propaganda has molded our worldly perception of beauty and will only continue to hurt us and gain from our lack of self-esteem if we allow it to.

    Read More

  • How To Change Victoria's Secret Advertisements

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    Some could argue that they interpret this advertisement as being motivational to women in search of their image of the “perfect” or “flawless” body. Individuals could also argue many women who shop at Victoria’s Secret typically are women of smaller builds because of Victoria Secret’s advertisements and commercials incorporate women of the standard “model” body. In return, women will believe that only people who are considered “skinny” are permitted to shop there. However, body shaming is a more valid argument because the advertisement does not display women of different shapes and

    Read More

  • Analysis of Susan Bordo´s Beauty (Re)discovers the Male Body

    1623 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the essay “Beauty (Re)discovers the Male Body,” author and philosopher Susan Bordo discusses the history and current state of male representation in advertisements. While using her feminist background, Bordo compares and contrasts the aspects of how men and women are portrayed in the public eye. She claims that there has been a paradigm shift the media with the theory that not just women are being objectified in the public eye, but also men too. Since the mid-1970s, with the introduction of Calvin Klein commercials, men have started to become more dehumanized and regarded as sex symbols. In a similar fashion to how Bordo describes gender, race plays a similar role in the media. People of all different ethnicities and cultures are being categorized into an oversimplified and usually unfair image by the media over basic characteristics.

    Read More

  • Stereotypes In Advertisements By Dolce & Gabbana

    1186 Words  | 3 Pages

    Brands that sell clothing and apparel tend to showcase their items by promising unrealistic outcomes that stem directly from buying their products, such as becoming instantly attractive, or suddenly gaining a powerful appearance. Thus, most of the ads for these brands portray a person or a situation that seems ideal to the consumer, pursuing them to buy the article being portrayed in the ad. In a world where ads are found in every corner, these marketing techniques prove to be profitable to the brands and companies that adopt them. This ad by Dolce & Gabbana seems to do just that. All it seemingly does is sell striking clothes by showcasing them on the bodies of four white, slim females, as most ads tend to do.

    Read More

  • Advertisement Analysis

    1395 Words  | 3 Pages

    An analysis of the signs and symbols used in Patek Philippe Geneve's "Begin your own tradition" advert.

    Read More

  • Advertising Analysis

    1327 Words  | 3 Pages

    This paper will analyze an ATT commercial according to audience, purpose, context, ethics, and stance. The focus will emphasize the audience which the aid is trying to reach and how they do so.

    Read More

  • Women and Advertisements

    2559 Words  | 6 Pages

    The media favors one women's body type; the tall blonde with perfect, tan skin and long, beautiful hair. Because the images of women in advertisements are unattainable, it keeps them purchasing new products in their quest to be like the models they see (Moore). The actual women in these advertisements can't even match up to the

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty

    1101 Words  | 3 Pages

    The media has increasingly portrayed unrealistic views of women in the media. Whether it be on billboards or in commercials, it is almost always the same image; a beautiful woman with an amazing body and no visible flaws. In 2004, Dove challenged those advertisements and came up with the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. It is a world-wide marketing campaign with the goal of banishing the conventional standard of beauty, and defining what ‘real beauty’ is. Despite having good intentions, I believe Dove’s real purpose is to simply broaden the definition of real beauty while making a profit.

    Read More

  • Analysis: Say No To Advertisement Discrimination

    1771 Words  | 4 Pages

    It Is apparent that woman are “supposed” to show a feminine figure and act like a lady. If a man were to make the perfect women in the year of two thousand fifteen she would be tall, full chested, tan, and blonde, she would also have the infamous thigh gap. Men have come to support the feminine look by dating or being romantically involved with women whom look or alter their body’s so they look like models. This act shows that advertisements is not only effecting women but also

    Read More

  • Perception Of Beauty Essay

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    Show business promotes commercials, print advertisements, films and shows where unbelievably perfect women are seen as the ‘ideal beauty’ The ‘ideal beauty’ controls the behavior of young girls and manipulates their perception of beauty. The term ‘ideal beauty’ is defined to be a conception of something that is perfect, especially that which one seeks to attain. Many young girls everyday are exposed to fashion and beauty advertisements that feature models who are portrayed as ‘perfect’. Due to this Technological Age, girls are exposed to many advertisements that encourage them to be like the featured models- tall, skinny, and foreign. There is also a survey conducted by Renee Hobbs, EdD, associate professor of communications at Temple University which states that, “The average teenage girl gets about 180 minutes of media exposure daily and only about ten minutes of parental interaction a day.” Moreover, media also promotes and advertises cosmetics, apparel, diet pills and exercise gears in the name of beauty and fitness, convincing girls to buy and ultimately patronize their products. Becoming very addicted with using such products can eventually lead to overdoes and becoming vainer. It may seem obvious to most of us that people prefer to look at beautiful faces. While beauty itself may be only skin deep, studies show our perception of beauty may be hard-wired in our brains (Stossel,

    Read More

More about Advertisement Analysis: Special K And Fashion Magazine

Open Document