“Ads sell more than products. They sell values, they sell images, they sell concepts of love and sexuality, of success, and perhaps most important, normality.” Jean Kilbourne, a media critic, goes into great detail of this disgrace to modern society in her documentary, “Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising 's Image of Women.” Many people like Kilbourne could argue that women have falsely been depicted as a minority to men over the years. All different forms of advertising have been guilty of womanizing in this way at one time or another. Some of the largest companies have been caught displaying woman in a sexual and desirable way in order to sell products; some even make the woman seem weak or dependable on a male figure. While many companies are guilty of the form of advertisement described in Kilbourne’s video, a handful of corporations bring hope into our often sexist society. One particular Nike ad contradicts Kilbourne’s theory of worsening feminization by showing a ruthless, successful female athlete. However, when analyzed, an Old Spice ad suggests that women are subjective to men, proving Kilbourne’s theory to have some truth.
The Old Spice advertisement on the following page gains a viewer 's attention in many ways. The man in the ad has two heads, one of a man and another of a hawk, who is accessorized by a single eye glass on it’s eye. The man is occupied by Old Spice products in one hand, and a woman falling into his other arm. Appearing in a Sports Illustrated magazine in March of 2015, both the man and woman are dressed in extremely out-dated formal clothing. The bookcase in the background adds to this vintage feel, appearing to date back to the mid or early 1900s. Additionally, the woman has a “heart-struck” look in her...
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...se over the decades, Nike allows us to suggest otherwise. Advertisements like this give inspiration to not only athletes, but to women as well. Serena and Nike both allow females to believe that no matter what media says, they can be their own independent person.
Ads like Old Spice leave that old depiction of man over woman, proving some of Kilbourne’s theory to be correct. They make the woman seem weak and dependent on man; where much of modern society has come to know that there is equality between sexes. Unlike Old Spice, Nike supports the modern way of gender equality and provides examples of women athletes like Serena Williams that fought against what the media and society said and followed her dreams. The conflicting messages of these ads prove that while Kilbourne’s theory was not completely false, our society has made tremendous leaps towards sex equality.
The importance of Title IX put women’s soccer on the map which encouraged a substantial rise in the number of female soccer participants in both the high school and college level. Much attention prior to this bill was given to male athletes and their respective sports. The evolutionary story of female participation in sport followed a group of impractical “truths” that attempted to rationalize why women should not be allowed to participate in sports. This article presents the effective marketing strategies that made the 1999 Women’s World Cup the most triumphant women’s sporting event ever to be displayed on United
During the last decade, women have experienced a significant advance in matters of equal rights. Their roles in society have diversified; challenging chauvinistic ideologies and perspectives. However, there are specific areas where male seem to have the predominant role and women are stuck. According to Michael Desbordes in the article “Endorsement by ‘Looks’”, American society has experienced positive changes regarding gender equality in sports, but women still face issues when it comes to sponsorships, because there are gender biases that negatively affect their image as professional athletes. Moreover, the factors that strongly influence sponsors to prefer men athletes over women have direct relationship with American society’s attitudes.
Throughout the years, some men have thought that they were above women and that women couldn 't do what men do. So, some women don 't try to do anything they think is too hard for a woman and let men do it instead. In the Nike ad the creator attempts to convey by using the slogans, “JUST DO IT” and ”I DUNK LIKE A GIRL KEEP UP” , that anything a guy can do a girl can do just as well or maybe even better! This Ad also shows a young-fit woman dunking s basketball with the speed and power of lightning as she shattered the backboard to appeal to her audience. This one done to demonstrate to girls and woman that they can become fit and possess the power to perform as well as any man can perform.
As the century progressed, the physicality of women in sports became more acceptable. Women who were not as feminine still had to deal with prejudice, and were sometimes labeled "homosexual" as a derogatory statement. Although there are still stereotypes that many women feel bound to, we see at the end of the film that images of women as athletes, rather than athletes as women are now acceptable. The Nike commercials are a good example of this. These commercials extol the physical prowess of wo...
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...
Female athletes, unlike males, are not always portrayed exclusively as performance athletes, instead attention is placed on sex appeal usually overshadowing their on-field accomplishments. Unfortunately female sports, like male sports, are directed primarily to a male audience, the media commonly use marketing techniques which involve sexualisation of the female bodies under a male gaze (Bremner, 2002). The idea that “sex sells” is used to generate viewers and followers of female sport.
Krane, V. (2001). We can be athletic and feminine, but do we want to? Challenging hegemonic femininity in women's sport. Quest, 53,115-133.
In a society where the sports marketing industry predominantly targeted men, Nike sought to go against the status quo and empower young girls to encourage them to participate in sports. Nike identifies the social issues of gender inequality by attacking the stereotype that young girls should not be encouraged to engage in physical in sports. The campaign identifies that young women will have a greater self-esteem and self-confidence if involved in sports.
Unlike male athletes, who are portrayed to be athletic and meant for performance, female athletes are shown through their beauty and sex appeal overshadowing court performances (Liang). Susan K. Cahn, professor at the University of Buffalo, who researches the history of women in sports, would agree with Liang and say that female athletes who inherently express strength and independence which are not traditionally feminine qualities, are often categorized as masculine and lesbian. Dr. Kahn explains asserts their femininity through the media. Only a few female athletes will earn large salaries from playing sports, which causes many to embrace the media’s sexualization. Females can show off their bodies to obtain more exposure and endorsements (Corbett). If the female athlete is stooping this low for a little extra attention to get endorsements, and money, maybe sports should start considering giving more money to its female athletes. For example, Anna Kournikova does not actually make a lot of money from playing tennis, and in fact, has never won a major tournament. Instead, she has become the world’s most highly paid women’s tennis player through endorsements that emphasize her sex appeal over her athleticism (Corbett). Showing off the female body in sexual ways in public is becoming the norm, and it should not
It’s because when I sport the Nike swoosh, I feel as if I representing the Nike brand and the beautiful, driven, fit women I see in their advertisements. Feeling this way gives me the inspiration and confidence to play my best. I feel as if I identify with the women in the advertisements by wearing Nike. “The relationship between persons and the product remains one of the most crucial signifiers within advertisements. Persons in advertisements supply the consumer with a certain identification frame—whether the person is presented as a user or is presented within a lifestyle setting, the viewer is invited to identify him/herself with the presented person.” 202 Brand Culture. The Nike brand does a great job at doing this to their consumers to create brand loyalty. Nike brand users, just like myself, see the athletes using the brands and feel a certain connection to them. Brand loyalty should not only be a goal for brands because of the benefit of having their logo advertised on consumers who fit within their target market, but also for PRICE SOMETHING ECONOMY
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.
Overall, the differences between what male athletes and female athletes must do in order to become successful is vastly distinct. A woman must be able to cope with receiving a lower salary than a man, expose herself to public eye in order earn time in the spotlight, and conform to society’s traditionalistic ideals of feministic traits to live up to the standards of a female athlete. Will people ever be able to see past these discriminatory stereotypes? Everyone needs to face the fact that women are capable of so much more than what society expects them to be, sees them to be, and pays them to be. It is time that female athletes are noticed for their genuine talents and not for any unnecessary opinions.
Nike’s focus for fashion forward women is the following: lead the athleisure trend, increase advertising, and the introduce the #BetterForIt social media campaign. We need to focus on the athleisure trend by increasing our portfolio for the women target market. Athleisure is already 20% of the firm’s revenue and we need to recognize that women are leading this fashion movement. Under Armor and Lululemon are already making headways in this fashion focused market. We need to emphasize our athletic technologies, promoting lighter fabrics and better performance, while still maintaining a level of comfort and fashionability. Increasing the portfolio means nothing if women don’t know we’ve done just that. Nike will need to increase advertising specifically with this target market in mind. The #BetterForIt campaign is one important aspect of these advertising efforts. Similar campaigns should promote and help “normalize” athletic wear in everyday
Women have been criticized when it comes to sports participation, sports is viewed as a dominant role for males and females should play a supportive role rather than participating in the actual field activities, this is just one of many reasons why inequality still exists. Sandys (2007) suggests that gender inequality in sports stems from the stereotypes that exist in society today. For example, stereotypes of women’s physical abilities and social roles are still very prominent today, and so women naturally feel inferior in the sports domain. If we stray away from the right track towards gender equality in sports and increased feelings of empowerment will only be reached if these stereotypes are eliminated (Sandys, 2007). Therefore, it could be argued that increased media coverage of women’s sports could be a possible solution, because it would serve to ed...
Curry and Clarke’s article believe in a strategy called “visual literacy” which develops women and men’s roles in advertisements (1983: 365). Advertisements are considered a part of mass media and communications, which influence an audience and impact society as a whole. Audiences quickly begin to rely on messages sent through advertisements and can create ideologies of women and men. These messages not only are extremely persuasive, but they additionally are effective in product consumption in the media (Curry and Clarke 1983: