The Stereotypes Of Calvin Klein : A Critical Analysis Of Advertising

The ad is in the colors of grey and white in what it looks to be an isolated bathroom or showers. The floors look dirty as if no one been there for a long time. In this ad there are three young adult women and three young adult men. It can be assumed by the ways these ladies and men were dressed it was summer. The ladies are dressed in white, one of them having a laced dress with a flower near the shoulder. The other lady is laying on the floor with a sleeveless blouse and along with mini skirt. The other lady is against the wall and is wearing very short pants and a blouse that is half see through. Two of the young men are only wearing white jeans without a shirt, the other man is wearing a white blazer over his shoulders, blue jeans and sneakers. Dolce & Gabbana are selling their summer clothes collection. At least that is what a person will expect just passing through the pages of a magazine. For another person that is looking at the subliminal message could find the ad as promoting violence against women.

"I do not think that marketers should use sex in advertisements. Sex makes things look more appealing, but it isn't a reason to buy a garment. I definitely look at the ads, but I am not naive enough to think that by simply buying what the model was wearing, I would look like him/her. I definitely think that sex has an effect on consumers, but more on the opposite sex of the model than on the sex that would probably be buying the product." Krista Funke

People are so used to seeing ads that they have become immune to them, so advertisers blatantly use sex to sell their products. Most people, immune to ads, won’t even think about the deeper meaning behind an ad. They will notice the product, but because the product is in a sexual situation, they will associate that featured product with sex. The problem with this advertising is that it, more often than not, uses women in compromising situations where the man has power over the woman. Some of these ads she presents as evidence are extremely violent and aggressive. One ad she mentions is three guys blatantly attacking a woman and it’s advertising women’s jeans. I agree with Kilbourne when she states, “Male violence is subtly encouraged by ads that

Calvin Klein effectively formulates ads that grab the attention of their audience, to purchase their poignant cologne. American men want to look and smell perfect for their better halves, and the Calvin Klein brand feeds into this shared desire in society. The brand establishes a buying audience through the use of multiple appeals to pathos, and by providing a window effect in this ad for Escape.

Within the advertisement they broadcast systemically reenforced and exaggerated a large number of stereotypes about both men and women. Some may wonder, however, how this really effects everyday life. If someone sees so many ads in a day what is one more, one that is just a bit more sexist than the typical beer ad. While this it is true that the average person is overstimulated by the number of ads as it is there is still something to be said for the content of the ads. Even if a person doesn’t mentally acknowledge them the brain still notes them and stores them in the brain. If time after time one sees women in the submissive role or treated as objects, chances are they will start subconsciously believing it. On the other hand if men are constantly portrayed as stupid and hormone driven then that bias will start to seep into reality. There are also significant moral issues with this ad, if time after time women are portrayed simply as a visual feast it changes how they will be treated for the rest of their lives. Next time they walk down the street theres a chance a man may catcall her, acknowledging the fact that she was in some way appealing to him. He doesn’t do this because she is smart, funny or kind he does this simply because he was pleased by her appearance and may even think he is complementing her. However, by doing this he reenforces what the media has

Gender role bias in advertisements has been so prevalent for so long that the untrained eye wouldn't even discern it. All the same, these biases, for the most part, put women in subordinate positions and men in dominant ones. This assumption on both the genders is unfair and demeaning. These ads portray women as subservient and play toys for men. Not only do the models depict an image nowhere near close to reality, but their bodies are scantily clad and what few clothes they are wearing are very revealing.

Upon a quick glance, the advertisement published in 2015 by Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa appears to be abundant in color, joyful and fairytale-like; at least when I first saw it a year ago. However, after reading about the different variations of objectification in advertisements I no longer see the ad as an innocent take on fairytales. Advertisements are meant to be geared to a public, or a specific public, in order to sell a product. Still, some ads showcase women as the product or at least a way to get people to purchase the product. Although any gender, culture, religion, or group can be victims of objectification in advertisements, women are mainly targeted.

This is not proposing to ban sex in advertising altogether; there will be a moderate amount where it is appropriate. But some might think this violates America s freedom of speech and that the advertisers can put anything in their ads. But there are laws and organizations that limit this freedom such as the FCC. Other people think that it is not a large enough issue to affect all of society and it should not be made into such a big case. But women are stereotyped and degraded everywhere so this will be a start to full equality between men and women.

To me, it is understandable how this ad would geared more towards a younger audience who is more drawn to sexual appeal. Though, this generation of young adults also seems to have a growing awareness of rape culture, and a drive to change it.

What about when women are the ones being advertised to? Well American Apparel and many other companies think that female objectifications sells just as well to women as to men. Why is this true? Because women are taught by advertisers that in order to be considered successful and happy we need to fit the ideals of the male gaze. American Apparel’s ads have developed a reputation for showing scantily clad young women in vulnerable and pornographic positions. In an ad entitled “Bodysuits and

This article “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt” explains how articles are making women sex symbols in advertisement. It goes into depth also how by doing this can cause men to sexaully harrass or assault women. The author Jean Kilbourne says this because if you show women as object and have all of these images of women being overpowered by men and it's acceptable in society, then boys will learn that this is an acceptable way to treat women this way. In the article there are pictures of women in ads, and then explains why women are sex symbols. She also talks about how kids can be used in these ads in the same way women can be. There was an ad done by Calvin Klein that had kids on it, and was bad enough that the ads were pulled.

In 2016, the United States spent 190 billion U.S. dollars on advertisements, almost double the amount of money on advertising than the next largest ad market (Statista). These ads advertise a multitude of different products. The ads are exposed to society in many different ways, from the breaks in between songs on the radio, to the ads shown online. Ads are targeted to a specific group of people, usually, the target demographic the brand wants to buy their product. Brands will often use women’s bodies in a sexual way to get people to stop and look at their ads. Over the last few decades, speakers and activists have seen advertisements becoming more sexual and more demeaning towards women. Activist Jean Kilbourne has been analyzing ads and has been bringing awareness to this issue for years through her four documentaries. In her documentary, “Killing Us Softly 4,” Jean Kilbourne asserts women’s bodies are often dismembered, portrayed with an unattainable, “ideal” body type, and despite advances in the women’s movement, the objectification of women in ads have gotten worse. The two images below illustrate these ideas.

The advertisement that I have decided to describe and analyze is one from Armani Code, a cologne producing company. When I first glanced at the advertisement, there were a few things that jumped out to me. The first of those things was an attractive white female with a lot of skin showing kissing and hugging an attractive white male who is professionally dressed. The next thing that caught my eye was the fact that the male was staring off somewhere into the distance while this beautiful female was trying to kiss him. He is portraying himself as if he is disinterested in the female. The third and final thing that caught my eye before actual analysis of the advertisement was the fact that the picture is all black and white. The girl, with her skin showing, is mainly all white. The male in his suit is mainly all black, with the exception of his face and white undershirt. Additionally, the bottle the cologne is held in, which is placed in the bottom right hand corner, is all black as well, with the words Armani Code printed on the bottom of the bottle is small print. While the ad itself is quite simple in design, it’s the meaning behind the picture that provides the most power. The message behind this advertisement is if Armani Code cologne is worn by any man that so many girls will like that man wearing the cologne in a sexual way that the man will eventually become sick of the females and focus on other things. This particular ad targets males while chasing the

of each model instead of bright colored clothes. Calvin Klein doesn’t want viewers to simply focus on the clothes, but on how the clothes look on these particular people.

Even if the groups of people who shop there aren’t necessarily responding to the “sex sells” approach, they are still advocating it by buying Abercrombie as well as other stores that use sexuality in ads. It is rare to find someone that outwardly objects to this form of advertising; people have come to accept that this has become commonplace in the world of advertisement. This was not always the case though; the prevalence of this style of advertising is fairly new, only starting in the past 10 to 20 years. The difference between advertisements now and in the 60s is one that is shocking when considered in a side-by-side comparison.