Automotive Advertising and Masculinity Essay

This furthers the divide in objectivity that human connection is less meaningful, and by part, it’s fine to use someone else as a means to pleasure instead. It is definitely unacceptable to use someone else no matter the intended purpose. This BMW advertising campaign is very problematic in the way in which it is accepted and transferred from companies to consumers so readily in our society. In all the mainstream media it is fully aware that these issues sell very well. In can be shown through other scholars’ ideas and analysis that these images in advertising work on the subconscious in a way that we understand more and can work through, fully finding the meaning in the mind. These things can be potentially very dangerous to society, showing that these idea of objectification and violence against the opposite gender is tolerable or permissible. No person should be viewed as an object or as a means to an end, and in many cases these “jokes” at this level and the advertisements are making society even more vulgar in the way that humans think and act, with the studies of Gulas and Kilbourne to reference, there is much wrong with the increase in violence against the opposite gender and objectification that leads to

Being in a spiralling economy, the automobile industry must step up their games to produce attractive advertisements. Creativity is crucial to attract potential buyers and gain more sales. To target specific prospects through ads, the automobile industry usually apply rhetoric concepts to enhance their product’s appeal in every way, and not just purely on the automobile designs. As men are the main target audience, car ads are usually being advertised as appealing and dangerous. Nevertheless, there are other important aspects to be highlighted as well, which can be perfectly marketed with certain rhetoric aspects. Although automobile ads always target the male audience, the industry also understands how partners or family can influence in purchase

Steve Craig, in his article Men’s Men and Women’s Women especially define how different sexes in advertisement can influence a particular audience towards a product; one stereotypical method he describes is “Men’s Women” (Craig).One such ad using sex appeal, and a basic structure of “Men’s Women” to bring in customer was made by BMW in 2008 to sell their used cars. BMW, which is a world-renowned company known for its performance heavy automobiles, targets a male audience by comparing a gorgeous woman to their cars.This ad by BMW, who no doubt make amazing cars, degrade women through its message, and it enforces Steve Craig’s “Men’s women” tactic, but this ad also goes a step further and displays the ever-present patriarchy in advertisement overtly.

Everyone has heard the phrase “sex sells.” It seems to be a major factor that drives people to buy. Advertisers manipulate this behavior by creating ads that showcase their products as a way to gain love, beauty, and desirability. Advertisers frequently use sex appeal with flirtatious images as an attention grabbing device to play with the public’s emotions. Because the public is a diverse group of individuals, it is difficult to target the masses by focusing on hobbies, sports, or flaws. Because of this, advertisers target sexuality, something everyone can relate to. In the February, 2016 issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine, they overtly demonstrate this. In an ad for Kinky Vodka, they represent multiple sexual innuendoes such as provocative body posing, stereotypical feminine colors, and seductive wording.

The authors use toys as an example for gender specifying children as male or females. They did a study to see what kind of toys that toddlers had at home. They found that girls had more toys for parties, wedding, cooking, and motherhood. And boys had toys that helped them with automotive skills and building skills. They express how parents do this to show children what they want them to do when they get older. Parents buy children toys to set their gender types early so kids know what gender type they have at an early age.

Some observers saw the 1920’s as a retreat from Spartan utilitarianism and a drive toward the decorative in automotive design, while others interpreted it as the emasculation both industry men and the cars they made (Scharff 113). The automobile industry associated car masculinity with power, endurance, economy, and price service, while car femininity was associated with luxury, comfort style and safety (Scharff 119). As it was not masculine for a man to want an aesthetically pleasing car, it was assumed by automakers such as Henry Ford that women exerted considerable influence over the cars that their husbands bought (Clarke 16). According to trade logic, male buyers’ taste had not altered; husbands had simply decided to start humoring their wives preferences in cars (Scharff 125-126). The notion that husbands were purchasing automobiles for their wives led to the widespread marketing of the automobile toward

In "Why Boys Don't Play with Dolls" by Katha Pollit states that the NOW or The National Organizational for Women was founded twenty-eight years ago, yet the boy’s still likes trucks and the girl’s plays with dolls. Despite major advances toward the achievement of equality for women, stereotypes are still clearly and purposefully keep going through the messages adults send to children about gender roles.  Society stressed that girls are not supposed to be big, strong and powerful, and that boys should not be weak, petite and play with such things as dolls or girly toys. Pollit analyzes why boys don’t play with dolls and how women trying to fit the “American ideal”. Most fathers do not want their boys to play with dolls because they feel that

The viral Dodge Charger Man’s Last Stand (2010) commercial illustrates the loss of masculinity. It aims to reassert a man’s right to control and domination in society through material consumption with blatant sexist messages. Additionally, it highlights cultural, economic and social structures as the root cause of the loss of masculinity. The commercial presents close-ups of ethnically diverse men, positioned in the bedroom, the kitchen and the living room.

Children love toys because they find them enjoyable and help them in building an imagination. Toys are advertised on televisions and radios in order to get parents to buy them for their kids. Playing with toys helps to build character and teaches children the basics of early life, like shape-sorting or building things with building blocks. Some toys are educational and teach kids numbers, letters, and how to read using fun ways that they find understandable and delightful. All kids have their own preference of toys, boys like cars and Nerf guns and girls like American Girl and Easy-Bake Ovens. Girls and boys are different genders and have their own preference of toys based on what society says is “for girls” or “for boys”. Since the beginning of time, societies have made women out to be frail people that do “feminine” activities, such as: making clothes, cleaning the house, and taking care of the children. Today, we see these activities as “sexist”, women can other things when given the proper motivation. It’s demeaning to think of women as people who only love shopping, overly romantic tokens-of-affection, chick flicks, and etc. Stereotypes and demeaning rumors still go around today, it’s even shown in toys that young children play with. Toys in today’s society affect gender stereotypes.

3) In this essay, Bordo discusses how and where one is positioned, as subject or object, and in the moment of vision. The section, “Rocks and Leaners”, Susan Bordo presents an argument that the gaze and position of men in advertising give off a message of masculinity. She describes the gaze, and how it can show dominance. The male models are the objects in the advertisement and meant to create a certain reaction depending upon there position. There is the “face up, face down, and stare down” (182). She also discusses how often in advertising, the lean is used in a seductive way. The angle of the camera is used as a powerful tool in advertising to capture certain moments and feel that the product is trying to convey. Whether it is a seductive lean with a face of stare, the male model is trying to get the viewers to remember and focus on him, therefore selling a product.

Toys also influenced children with gender roles. In our society, the typical expectations of men is to financial support the family, and for females it’s to cook, clean, and take care of the children. “Both wives and husbands tend to perceive this as a “fair” arrangement” (Zimmerman 30). To instill this idea in young minds, there are toys that influence these gender roles. Boys have toy tool sets, promoting hands on work. Girls on the other hand have cooking and cleaning toys such as the Easy Bake Oven or toy vacuums. Also “parents tend to encourage more gender-typed activities. One study found that household tasks differ along gender lines. American boys are more likely to mow the lawn, shovel snow, take our the garbage, and do the yard work, whereas girls tended to clean the house, wash dishes, cook, and baby-sit the younger children” (Newman 133). Girls also like to play “house” fostering wife and motherly qualities such as taking care of the family. These toys help with socialization making children believe and understand that these are the norms of our society. So in conclusion to toys, “Sex-specific toys foster different traits and skills in children and thereby serve to further segregate the two sexes into different patterns of social development. “Boys’ toys” encourage invention, exploration,

In the Tom Ford ad, a woman is seen laying down on her side, half naked and slim, looking at her face full of makeup through a mirror. Marketers use the concept of gender, mainly women to display sexuality, providing a resource that can be used to receive attention. The audiences’ attention is caught right away in this ad as they see a “sexy” woman being the main focus. Advertising shapes a society’s culture, and reflects its values. Furthermore, advertising is a part of “a discourse through and about objects” as it does not mention anything about the product but how it is connected to major domains in our lives (Jhally 328). The makeup product of Tom Ford is not mentioned in the ad whatsoever, but the mirror is used as an indication of beauty viewed through society’s expectations. It promotes images of what the audience assumes to be “the good life” as it tries guiding us to become “happy” through the purchase of products. If a woman were to buy any makeup by Tom Ford, she will automatically be happy as the makeup will give her glow in life because she will be able to do anything with her new and enhanced beauty. The concept of advertising consists of wrapping up your emotions and selling them back to you (329) by giving fake happiness and satisfaction that loops an individual to chase goods in order to fill the void of

Specific stereotypical toys can force gender roles on children. This phenomenon has been going on for a while, for example, in Sears catalogs from the 1920’s to the 1940’s present toys such as, “The Little Women Homemaker,” and, “The Young Man of Industry.” Most big box stores today have separate ailes labeled, “Girl’s Toys,” or, “Boy’s Toys.” The aisle targeted for girls enclude vacuums, kitchens, and dolls that you can change and feed. The aisle for boys enclude, toy guns, trucks, cars, building blocks, and action figures.

The ideas that define masculine qualities have been the fuel for a lot of debate and controversy. Masculine stereotypes are either reinforced or discouraged in advertising. Although a lot of formal interpretations of female stereotypes in advertising have been made there were little formal responses to the male body in advertising until Susan Bordo published her book, The Male Body: A New Look at Men in Public and Private. In the chapter “Beauty (Re)Discovers the Male Body” Bordo examines the state of men in advertising. The typical image of a hyper-masculine straight man is dangerously present in most advertising directed towards males. In this chapter, Bordo states, “Men, according to Berger’s formula, must never be seen as though they are asking this question, and may display their beauty only if it is an unavoidable side effect of other ‘business”(155). Believes such as these have caused many issues for men the and they way they see themselves. In advertising, the negative influence of gender roles and hypermasculinity should be adjusted with gender-inclusive points of view that encourage free expression.

Subaru Canada is selling a new type of car advertisement which shows deviance to societal norms by changing the image of what people think is sexy. Sex sells is a long standing phrase that can be used to define the advertising industry and before this commercial was released many manufacturers marketed “sexy” car advertisements using Sports Illustrated swimsuit models or models of a similar stature. Subaru in lieu of the sexy bikini models has chosen to express their individuality by chosen a cultural representation to poke fun at traditional advertising.