The Power of Magazine Advertisments

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Recommended: influence of TV commercials on body image dissatisfaction

An internationally known author, filmmaker, women's advocate and speaker Jean Kilbourne shares that,“The average person is subjected to 3,000 ads every day… Ads sell more than products. They sell values, images, and concepts of love, sexuality, success, and most important normalcy. They tell u who we are and who we should be. ”(Kilbourne). Most people depict beauty as being tall, skinny, and naturally beautiful without makeup because this is widespread in all major fashion magazines. Magazine advertisements try to sell products by over sexualizing them. The standards set by these companies become unrealistic and unachievable, just plain fantasy for anyone who attempts to try. Unfortunately, these companies are ALSO smart and powerful they set the bar for what is hot and not. Fashion magazine advertisements epitomize and glorify women/ models who are younger, thinner, and taller than the average woman is today. The benchmark and criterion appointed is often unrealistic and unattainable consequently it sets the average woman up for failure and unhealthy habits. The standard of young female beauty and a woman’s position in society are often governed by what fashion magazines dictate. Magazine editors and advertisers use ingenious techniques such as sexualizing and objectifying women and products to sell products by means of Manipulating the truth or diminishing facts by means of Photoshop, or by subordinating the role of women as submissive homemakers.
The power magazines have is far-reaching, and the impact is profound. Think about how magazines reach the wide masses. Consider the shelf life of a single issue; it is rather long, and a copy of one is cheap to buy, the affordability and the life of one are the reason consumer conti...

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...: 209-14. Print.
Heavin, Janese. "Study: Magazine Ads Make Women Feel Bad." Columbia Daily Tribune (MO) (2007): Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 5 May 2014.
Kilbourne, Jean. Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising's Image of Women. Northampton, MA: Media Education Foundation, 2010
Sy, Stephanie. "Sign of The Times." Nightline (ABC) (2011): 1. Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 12 May 2014.
Tiggemann, Marika; Mcgill, Belinda. "The Role of Social Comparison in the Effect of Magazine Advertisements on Women's Mood and Body Dissatisfaction." Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology 23.1 (2004): 23-44. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 May 2014.
Tiggemann, Marika; Polivy, Janet; Hargreaves, Duane. "The Processing Of Thin Ideals In Fashion Magazines: A Source Of Social Comparison Or Fantasy?." Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology 28.1 (2009): 73-93. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 May 2014.

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