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Ex Wife Image

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What makes us human? Most would concur that it is our ability to feel emotion. If manipulated shrewdly, this universal capacity for emotion could be turned into a powerful tool that allows its wielder to shape the minds of unsuspecting targets to their will. The “Ex-Wife” advertisement, first published in 2009 as part of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class advertising campaign, utilizes this power to its maximum potential by appealing to the most universal of all human emotions: the desire for self-indulgence and the bitterness of a spurned lover. In this visually rich advertisement, a network of icons placed centrally on the page immediately catches the viewer’s eye. These icons, each depicting various aspects of a stereotypical female’s life, are linked to an image of multiple credit cards superimposed on an impeccably dressed, middle-aged woman. In contrast to this detailed web, the remainder of the advertisement …show more content…

It depicts the ex-wife falling in love with a young, handsome member of the household maintenance staff of her new mansion, and replacing a tattoo of her ex-husband’s name on her body with the name of her new beau, all the while using her ex-husband’s funds to fulfill her wishes. This scenario, in keeping with the flippant tone of the whole advertisement, exploits the stereotype of affluent, middle-aged executives with troubled domestic lives, and their idle wives who, in the absence of their career-oriented husbands, engage in illicit affairs with younger men from different social backgrounds. Through this particular set of images, the advertisement attempts to evoke feelings of bitterness and jealousy, and to exploit the insecurities of its targeted client base: the said affluent, middle-aged

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