Elitism In The American Dream

Watching television growing up, half of the time spent watching was filled with advertisements. Most of the time, the ad would include a beautiful woman, barely dressed, doing something sexually suggestive. The whole advertisement would consist of this, while most people have no idea what the product being sold is. Then at the very end, they provide a brief description of the product. This is an example of using sex to sell products. It is no secret that advertisers have been using sex to sell their products for years. These tools are used in all types of advertisements. However, this is not just selling sex, it is selling elitism. It is selling the status of “hey, if you can get our product, you can get these types of girls”. Elitism is

This contradiction is no accident; it is fundamental to the structure of American society. Even as America 's great myth of equality celebrates the virtues of mom, apple pie, and the girl or boy next door, it also lures us to achieve social distinction, to rise above the crowd and bask alone in the glory. This land is your land and this land is my land, Woody Guthrie 's populist anthem tells us, but we keep trying to increase the "my" at the expense of the "your." Rather than fostering contentment, the American dream breeds desire, a longing for a greater share of the pie. It is as if our society were a vast high-school football game, with the bulk of the participants noisily rooting in the stands while, deep down, each of them is wishing he or she could be the star quarterback or head cheerleader” (Solomon). So many companies use these tools. A couple of examples are, Lexus, Carls JR, and Old

In this particular advertisement, they are selling a very sleek attractive car. The advertisement was in the open road, with an attractive blonde woman wearing a bikini. There are no beaches around, she is not going for a swim, she is just there to look good. All of this quotes say, “The Pursuit of Perfection”. This ad is obviously selling both sex. The beautiful woman in the bikini is suggesting that with this car, you automatically get girls of this caliber. Almost as if it is all inclusive, including her. Most people consider the public display of sex or suggestive things taboo. People by nature are attracted to things that are “off limits”. This is an advertising tactic of taking things that are normally considered bad or taboo and making them acceptable and desirable. This is a truly effective tactic, based on the fact that rebellion sells, people want what they can not have. In the “Selling of Rebellion”, Leo states, “The central message here is very serious and strongly antisocial: We should all rebel against authority, social order, propriety, and rules of any kind. “Obey” and “Rules” are bad (Leo,198). This is saying that people will want to do something that is taboo just because it is “off limits” and it feels good to do something people tell say you cannot. This is also selling elitism by selling a certain status. Lexus is already considered a more expensive or high quality brand of car, and they use their