Advertisement Project

1. Of course there are ads that bother me all over the place. One extremely sexist commercial that confounds me every time I watch it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck14LKBI9GM. As if it weren’t weird that animals were enjoying a popular European beverage, they are extraordinarily sexualized. Notice how much animation detail there is on subtle things like the way breasts bounce, the way “manly” animals make the ground shake... and my personal favorite: notice when the bear slides under all of the zebras... he hits their groins.
Now it is fairly simple that the message this commercial is trying to deliver is: “This is a fun, pleasurable, drink that feels sexy to enjoy.” How do they communicate this? Try giving the “manly” bear an erection when he drinks it and having the female deer wrap her legs around the bear, and shortly after loose her clothing. This commercial is a great example of how binary our categorizations of males and female works... they pulled of making sexy female and sexy male human-like animals using some of the most basic stereotypes. After forming these over sexualized animal characters, all the commercial makers had to do was show the fun to be had between the two sexes while drinking Orangina.
What are the consequences? Aside from the obvious risk that small children may run out to by an animal costume to act over sexualized in, there really are some subtle (an not so subtle) things to think about. I think one of the most dangerous side effects that a commercial like this could have is promoting that certain relations or activities should be more casually thought about. What is a more casual way to become overtly attracted to someone and dance in your underpants in front of people than with a glass of Orangina? Another problem I see with this commercial is how positively it paints all of the sexual relations and experiences that occur in the commercial. When you associate beautiful blooming flowers, mystical forests, and fun loving creatures to erections, almost naked women, and scandalous dress, a whole new innocent and fun light is being placed on themes that need to be handled in a far more careful manner.
On another note... don’t get me started on bluefly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi0SVoKRS4s.

2. As for a positive commercial, Dove had always been a second place in my mind. However, there is one ad that I have always loved, and that is the Dove “evolution commercial”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibyAJOSW8U. One can’t help but react to what is shown in this ad. Whether or not this is a dramatization of what really happens in modeling and in the creation of ads, it forces the viewer to question how real the ads they see every day actually are. Even before the days of Photoshop, there were corsets and fuzzy lenses (think Doris Day to get rid of her freckles) to shape “pretty” people even more.
I love the line shown in this ad: “No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted.” In other Dove ads, the fight against certain stereotypes is more explicit. I personally like the “Pro Age” campaign where Dove ads feature older models in a far more realistic light. When people remove themselves from being distracted by fake-looking models, I think that many people can identity with the beauty shown in these ads. Creating ads in which the viewers are able to identify with the models is one of the best ways the Dove campaign is fighting.
The Dove ads do a great job at complementing more than one body type, and they do it quite explicitly. For instance, nude or partially nude photographs of normal body types are a main feature of many Dove ads. The mould of what body types should model in certain clothing is broken. The mould of what advertisements tell is beauty is broken. We are left with a wonderful expression from “unconventional” models that is a brilliant protest and celebration.