Advertising for Women:
Advertisements are everywhere today and have an ever-growing influence on our lives. Advertisements are targeted to both men and women and influence the choices they make. Advertisements are everywhere: TV, billboards, magazines, social media, and even in magazines. Bill Bryson who wrote “The Hard Sell in America,” stated that “Advertising was already well-established by this time in the 20th century.” (12). Bill Bryson is clear in stating that the advertising sector is expanding and has greater influence over their audience. Advertisers have many different ways to market their products. One of the most effective is to use women in their advertisements. Men and women can be sold by using the same woman to advertise their products. Companies use women’s bodies to market their products.
All of these women are a part of the same group. These women are all “perfect” women. William Lutz wrote an essay entitled “With These words I can sell you anything” in which he stated that the ad was trying to convince people to buy a product. He also said, “Remember that the ad’s purpose is to show the product in the best light possible, using any trick, deviance or other legal means.” (69). Advertisers use this technique to make their audience feel less secure, making them feel more attractive, more skinnier, more popular, and more beautiful. Advertisers often use women to promote their clothing. DKNY’s DKNY advertisement #1 shows a man-woman walking down the street. As you can see, the focus is on the woman. The man is an accessory to her. He’s carrying a bag that looks almost like hers. He is used to focus on her by looking at the page behind him. Her hair is straight and brown, her skin is clear, and she’s tall. The model is wearing only black, and a black zip-up hoodie. Her expression is passionate and serious. She isn’t trying to get attention from the guy, but rather she’s trying to grab attention from the audience. DKNY’s logo is written in capital letters in large, white letters. It is located in middle of the pages. It reads “#ONLYINDKNY” at the bottom. The DKNY website is on the left. DKNY literally wants women to win by putting their name on them. If they buy a DKNY product, men will notice and may even want to model for their ad.
This advertisement targets young adults and older teens. DKNY hopes to convince their audience that they can be just like the women and men if they choose to wear the brand of clothing they sell. It encourages men to believe that they can have any kind of relationship with pretty women if the clothing is worn. This makes girls feel that they can look like a woman if they have that clothing. This is a common misconception among the audience. A woman doesn’t naturally look this way. The model had spent hours doing her hair and makeup before the photo was taken. It was most likely that DKNY was used to photoshopped this photo to make her appear more intimidating with her stunning features and a man at her side.
Cadillac is the second advertiser. Cadillac also advertises their product using a woman. This woman has tan skin, red lips, curly hair, and a slim figure. She is wearing an all-black fur coat, and poses with one arm in front of the steering wheel. The model is sexy and serious as she looks at the audience. The model seems very confident in herself. You can see four small sections of the advertisement. The car’s interior is shown in the single section. The Center of the page has a large, all-caps writing that reads, “BREATHTAKING.” Even in Park.” Although the advertisement is directed at the car, it also addresses the woman driving the car. While the car itself is stunning, the woman advertisements to it are equally impressive.
This advertisement focuses on the woman and not the car. The advertisement should not be about the car. This advert aims to sell the car to the upper class. The woman emphasizes why the car is so beautiful while in park. The ad promises that the car will attract attention and attractiveness, which most men desire. Cadillac made the car more appealing by incorporating what people want. This advertisement targets men who are of higher social class. Cadillac’
The advertisement’s main focus is a woman who is attractive and tries to attract older men to their product. The car company uses a woman to promote their product. It is not about the woman’s attractiveness, but the features of the car.
Advertisements for perfume companies often feature women. Burberry is the perfume advertiser in this third ad. Burberry wants to target this audience with their new Blush perfume. First, I noticed the woman leaning on the huge bottle. They have a slim woman with a long, straight, blonde hair. The jacket is covered in blush and covers her entire body. The big Blush perfume bottle is in her face. This advertisement uses a common sheasel word that means “new.” It is located at the bottom left-hand corner in white capital letters and reads “THE NEW FLAGRANCE.” The background, jacket, and perfume color are all pink blush colors. Pink represents unconditional love, nurturing, and support.
This advertisement reveals the size of the bottles. Burberry has made the bottle the same size as the woman to emphasize the fact that the bottle supports the woman. The advertisement shows the model leaning against large bottles to support her back. This is so that the audience feels like they have the same perfume support as the model. The ad makes use of beauty appeal to draw in the audience. To grab the attention of the audience, the model seems to be giving a seductive glance to the camera. The model would have a different reaction to the product if she was looking away from it. These are teen and adult women looking to make themselves beautiful. Burberry claims that this perfume will make you feel and smell more sexy. This ad encourages women to believe that their perfume can help them feel more confident and make them look better. You can be as beautiful as the woman in the ad if your purchase their perfume.
Let’s conclude by pointing out that these ads all use the same tactic. Advertisers are aware that beauty attracts humans. Women’s looks are used by companies to market their products to both men and women. Advertising uses women in many different types. These women all have that perfect look that appeals to the media. Even though they appear perfect in media, it is not easy to make them look that way. They don’t just wake up looking like this. To make their ads look better, many advertisers resort to photo-shop. This is done to lower self-esteem, make us feel better and make us believe that the product will make us look better. These “perfect” women are used to attract us closer to their products in the hopes that we will buy them because of the ads.
