women in advertising

 

When thinking about body image you often go back to what ads tell us. I mean of course they’re portraying the “typical body” and we’re supposed to love the “typical body” we all are supposed to have. But times have changed and things are supposed to be better for women in ads. The average body isn’t a size zero, have average size breast and wonderful skin. But as we see in this Victoria Secret ad we have pretty models with nice bodies as well as nice faces and nice skin. That’s nice to see sometimes but does Victoria Secret know that not EVERYONE looks like that? Does the advertising department know that the average size of an American woman isn’t a size zero; yet here they are using models that are probably wearing pants that are a small size. I’m defiantly not the average size of these women at all. To see them say love your body and show one type just tells me that they’re pretty narrow minded in what they think everyone looks like. I can love my body even though I wear a size large in a shirt. Victoria secret literally tells me that I can’t love myself and no one will love me if I don’t look like that. They tried to portray a wonderful message of “love your body” but completely failed at it because they only used one size. With this 50s ad it’s a bit different if you look at it you can see it’s about how being skinny isn’t okay. The tag line says “Men wouldn’t look at me when I was skinny but since I gained 10 pounds this new, easy way I have all the dates I want!” This ad is for a yeast supplement called Ironized Yeast; these are tablets that make you gain some weight. This tablet will give you good health, nice curves and nice skin. Back then you would have thought that they would actually prefer the skinny girls. But you can see that these girls do have some meat on them. This to me is what an ideal woman would look like; one that has all around curves and some weight on the side where the bones are hidden.

The difference between these two ads is mind blowing. One ad promotes that having curves is okay but the other one is promoting to love our bodies yet they have one size and not a variety. At times I find it hard to believe that it has come to this. How at one point in time it was okay for a woman to show off her curves and to the point where it’s not okay, because they see ads like Victoria Secret and they see the skinny models and then some women think that since I don’t look like this I’m not sufficient enough to be the average woman.

Being in the fashion field I don’t want anyone to feel that they aren’t fit for high end apparel or any apparel for that matter, just because they see a skinny model they can’t feel just as beautiful as them. It’s my personal goal for woman to be comfortable in their skin. I want them to feel like because they have curves they can get anyone they want in whatever clothes they were to buy. Woman and MEN of any size have every opportunity to love themselves and to be loved whether they are big, small, light skinned, dark skinned; we should all love who we are an embrace it. 

• Determine the scenario: What happens in this frame?

You have the famous Lucile Ball advertising Philip Morris King Size cigarettes and the tag line is Now Millions Know! ONE KINGSIZE top ‘em all for TASTE and COMFORT! So she’s sitting there a pack in her left hand and a stick in her right and she looks so happy. If you look next to her head she also has the saying “your throat can tell its PHILIP MORRIS”.

To be honest all around here is information about the brand she’s advertising. To the right of the King Size packet she’s holding it reads “No matter what brand you’re now smoking…there’s    greater pleasure waiting for you in the new PHILLIP MORRIS King Size. Millions of smokers who tried them are buying them over and over again! Once you try them, you will, too. Because your throat can tell that here, at last, is a cigarette not only good to smoke…but good to the smoker…good to you! Try a carton now!”

Then to the left where he hand is holding a stick that’s lit it says “UCILLE BALL staring in the Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz “I LOVE LUCY” show CBS-TV.

The pictures of a regular size pack of Philip Morris is on the ad as well as the King Size showing the big size difference. On the bottom of the add it says “CALL FOR PHILIP MORRIS”

• What is the setting? What are the conditions?

The setting was in the 1950s where a lot of women who were stay at home mothers and most of them would smoke. The setting is simple it just Lucille advertising the pack with a straight forward campaign of no one is better than Philip Morris when it comes to cigarettes.

• Who are the people or groups?

For me this advertisement is a target for the women who have families and who watch television in the 1950s. They really didn’t have much to do then other than take care of their husband and children. Lucille ball was very icon back then and her show was a big hit; everyone was watching it. And Lucille was an icon for staying at home and not doing much other than helping her husband.

• What is their point of view around this specific experience?

The ad specifically says “your throat can tell its PHILIP MORRIS” twice even! It’s saying that no other cigarette will be the same. EVERYTHING ELSE will be harsh and your throat will hate it! AND LET NOT FORGET! IT’S KING SIZE! No one else has KING SIZE! And Lucille Ball is using it; so that must mean its good.

• What are their goals?

Get the stay at home women and the on the go women to use their product. And show that the KING SIZE is better than the regular size. They are trying to advertise that the regular size is mediocre and that the king size is twice as better and it’s comfortable to smoke than the regular.

• What are their assumptions? What are their perceptions?

Assuming how old this ad it, I would think people would see the actress such as her to be on an ad for this brand is something of a good thing. Everyone knew her, and who didn’t smoke back then?! And when someone comes along such as Lucille Ball, and appeals to the masses who watch television with their families at night would see the ad and think if someone like her who’s classy and who’s sophisticated can smoke it so can I. The ad makes you literally feel that if I smoke this king size pack I’ll be like Lucille Ball.

Are there conflicts? Is there cooperation?

In the ad I don’t think so; in the 1950s it was normal for people to smoke so seeing a classy lady such as Lucille Ball come out with a Philip Morris ad isn’t as surprising as it should have been.

• What are the outcomes?

It sure swayed me to want to smoke them; I used to smoke so I know that some of the cigarettes out there are very harsh. But with the King Size difference and the way that they’re advertising it make it seem that even if it was any other brand and it was regular size it just wouldn’t cut it. I also know that she did do some television ads for them as well. Some were even banned, like the “light it up for Lucy” Where the setting was in Lucy’s house with her husband and they had one stick left so he said to her “you better get another pack”. So she gets up from where she was sitting and she goes to this picture frame and takes it down from the wall and there’s a safe behind it, unlocking it and opening it just shows that the king size packets were there and they were keeping it safe. What’s funny is while I was watching this on youtube I figured I’d look at the comments and I saw someone wrote this “I am 57 years old. Looking back on all these old commercials it really is amazing how cigarette smoking was such an entrenched part of the life style of this era. When I was a kid the only people I knew who did not smoke were my parents...and they were considered real oddballs for that. It             seemed that every human over the age of 14 was smoking. My doctor smoked, my dentist smoked......inside restaurants were just a fog of cigarette smoke too (source:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1A_zkUtGvw) Smoking was normal for them back in the 50s this man even states that people thought his parents were oddballs because they didn’t smoke either. It goes to show that ads like this would be so effective in that time.

Ethics in Ads

There is a lot I don’t know about advertisements but I do know that they have to catch my eye and I want to engage in to the story or concept they are coming up with. In the world we live in we know that clothes is a necessity, running around naked would put us behind bars. As I have a true love for fashion I always look at the advertisements that deal with clothes, makeup, handbags, or shoes. I always think about what process a company goes through when they want to sell me a five hundred dollar hand bag that is so small it would only fit my lip gloss in it. After years of looking at these advertisements I do see the appeal to what message they’re trying to portray. Of course if it looks good on the model and it has a catchy slogan I’ll be hooked in to buying it. But I always got to remember that fashion is a world of art, and some people push their limits when it comes to presenting it to the consumer.

“Some people in the fashion world say that they aren’t intending the negative stereotypes or anything and that the problem is the sensitivity of everyone and society about these racist or gender stereotypes.“ (photo/quote source: http://camouflageculture.wordpress.com/2008/12/14/most-offensive-fashion-ads/) This blogged does bring up a valid point; sometimes they do just think about the clothes and not what they’re bring out as an advertising campaign. Sisley is a very well know brand for those who are in to mod look. But when they brought out the ad for Sisley Fashion Junkie is not only controversial but its just so tacky. I’m not going to deny that their has never been any drug use in the fashion world, that would make me a hypocrite. But to display this as an ad; two girls who look high and who are “sniffing” a dress is so tasteless and makes the brand look like a bunch of drug addicts not a bunch of “fashion junkies” as they are so saying. If I was to bring up a brand and my target market was for the mod victims, I wouldn’t want my brand to imaged as a drug addict kind of world. Sisley could have used other ways to use the term “fashion junkie”. Put the models in the clothes trash a house that looks like a fashion hoarder would live in and have them stand on it or make them look like they’re being crushed by it. I don’t know, anything but that. This not only makes their brand looks un-classy but it makes the world of fashion look dirty.

When anyone thinks about dirty fashion there is one brand that comes to mind; American Apparel (at least for mine) I used to walk passed their store when I worked in a local mall and it gives off a soft porn feel to it and it just screams scandal! Please don’t get me wrong I do like American Apparel, but their campaign needs to cover up a bit more. You can see from this ad that the girl is laying down on her bed in her underwear and then in the next picture below she is doing unspeakable things to a man in grey underwear, by the way that’s the product they’re trying to market. As it is a good ad and it’s pretty much saying that if you buy this underwear a girl like this can be in your bed every night; its something that shouldn’t be showcased in the malls. As pre-teens stray away from the norms of Justice or any other preteen store there is they’re going to go to American Apparel or H&M. And when you’re a preteen becoming a teen parents are going to pay. As a future parent I wouldn’t want my child to buy from a store like that until they’re at least 18 years old.

It’s a bit sad that everyone else is going with the dirty theme. And it seems like Puma did the same with their shoe advertisement. Here we have a girl on one knee, in front of a man. Anyone over the age of 18; or at least I hope over the age of 18 would know what this ad is suggesting. The white liquid on her leg is also a given on what is going on in this scene. What is the message here that if we honestly get these shoes this will actually happen; maybe in some alternate universe but in this one it just doesn’t work. Its shameful to know that an ad like this would actually represent Puma. Everyone wears Puma they have such a large demographic that even the creative team should have thought of something more tasteful. This is just smut and trash that shouldn’t even have been published. It ruins their image and it shows that they didn’t put thought in to what the public would see in this type of ad. (Photo source: http://psdcollector.blogspot.com/2010/05/advertisements-100-controversial-ads.html)

It makes me wonder what goes through the mind of a creative director when they come up with some of these advertisements and what they’re true message is. I question credibility to some ad companies because if they think they can come out with an advertisement as racy as these they might as well be in the porn industry or selling drugs. I mean that’s what it looks like they’re advertising for; drugs and sex.

Some of the advertising companies as well as the brand want to save face and say that they didn’t mean to do it but in all reality they did want the campaign to turn out that way. This makes you question who you can really rely on when you come out with a product and you know what you want to represent but they really don’t deliver and in the end they put a negative image on your brand. In the near future I’ll keep in mind to keep my image clean and to keep it simple while I try to engage the viewer. That way I know I’m guaranteed to be talked about.

Voice

Fashion never sleeps; is one probably the best quote I can come up with that describes my life. I eat, breath, live fashion; fashion is passion, passion makes life worth living.  As a Visual stylist I can’t think of myself, I’m not everyone in this world after all; I can’t say I make my own culture. I’m just a simple stylist trying to make a living while playing dress up with life size dolls. I have to see the world as an open book and a display window as an empty canvas. I start to think about other people’s lives, their music, and their culture and wonder what goes through their head when they walk up to a window. To me a true understanding of the world around you is one the key points to understand the fashion world. What people want, what people need, and how you’re going to portray the latest fashion is what’s going to drive a business to success. Everyone is different, that’s what makes fashion so exciting. You never know what kind of reaction you’re going to get. People either like it or don’t like it. Seeing people have different reactions to a certain piece has made this industry a bit comical, but what makes it even better is when anyone comes up to me with questions; “What should I wear with this?” “Is that color really in style these days?” “How do I wear this?” It makes me happy knowing I put a garment on a mannequin and then put it in the hands of the next fashionista. Once they walk out of the store they’ll take that piece and fit it to their personality. Styling a window display can only do so much at the end of the day but once a customer walk out those doors, the consumer themselves them become the fashion culture I live today.

Week 1: EOC Volkswagen Lemon ad

What comes to mind when someone says the word bug? Some people actually relate it to the actually insect but for me I always find myself day dreaming of the days when me and my sister used to hit each other in the car while screaming the words “PUNCH BUGGY!” But let’s all face it! Without the Volkswagen Beatle that game would have no use for my sister and I. The unique design that everyone has wondered about is probably one of the most historical stories. What kind of history? The history of how we all got a taste of the, and where it all started. Well probably but the first time I ever saw one was in an advertisement. Literally sitting at home watching reality shoes and an ad for a Beatle comes up. It’s so cute I thought while I continued to watch. But back when it all started Volkswagen would have never pinned the Beatle as a cute car.

"No point in showing you the 1962 Volkswagen It still looks the same."; “Lemon”  were the words we all would have seen in the 1960 ad for the Volkswagen Beatle; but let’s just focus on one today.  “How could Volkswagen sell Hitler’s favorite car to the American people only a decade and a half after World War II?” Really how?  Hitler himself made the car because he thought that it's a good idea for everyone to have a car. The car was small and during that time people were all used to the big bulky cars. People in the 1950s didn't want a small ugly car. How was Volkswagen supposed to sell a product that was already seen negatively? “The “Lemon” ad, created by Doyle Dane Bernbach in 1959, was intended to attract readers, drive home a product advantage, and perhaps generate some smiles.” It honestly did put a smile on my face I won’t deny that. Putting the word lemon on a car; and having its own company place it on there is pretty smart. It’s already seen negatively why not add more, its a bit comical. When readers see the word lemon on a car they would automatically know it’s a bad car and not to buy it. But the reason why they put lemon on an ad that has a perfectly looking black Beatle on it can be weird. The only problem with it would only be seen up close. “Turns out, the chrome strip on the glove compartment must be replaced, because Inspector Kurt Kroner noticed a blemish.” And that was the only thing wrong with it. So of course they replaced it with a brand new one. This assures the consumer that no matter what Volkswagen will be the place to be when you want a good quality car and great customer service. Everyone who would like to buy a car would love to see this. It’s a top quality car with top quality care just like VW said “We pluck the lemons, you get the plums.”

http://www.brandstoke.com/2010/09/28/engaging-or-informing-which-creative-approach-is-lemon/

http://www.writingfordesigners.com/?p=1731

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1960-1969-volkswagen-beetle4.htm