“Everyone wants a piece”
Am I the only one that didn’t see the pack of chewing gum when first looking at this ad? I doubt it. I didn’t even know that there was a pack of gum in this add. If I couldn’t read english, I would have thought something else was going on here. Why did this picture catch my eye(s)? In my opinion this is a classic advertising trick: use sexuality or implied sex to capture the consumers attention. Once obtained, the advertiser can focus the consumer to the product.
1. How is the girl/woman represented in the ad? How is her body and/or sexuality used (or not) to sell a particular product?
The woman in the ad is seen from the back and the eyes of the consumer are directed to her rear end, right where the pack of gum is. Her sexuality is her figure and the close proximity of the product to the line of sight is what is used to get the product recognized.
2. Do you think this ad is offensive to women? Why or why not? What kind of ideologies of gender and sexuality do you think are contained in this ad? What is the dividing line between “sexy” and sexist?
I think that I have become so desensitized to sex in advertising that, for the most part, I don’t find the picture offensive. The statement “everyone wants a piece” is a little blatant. The word “piece” is a metaphor for sexual intercourse and coupled with the picture, a man and woman in a perceived intimate position, is a little much when talking about “gum”. The line between sexy and sexist is blurred but I believe this is the intention.
3. Is this ad feminist or anti-feminist? Justify your beliefs.
I would say that it is anti-feminist. I don’t think that a woman, who is feminist, advocating social equality, would want just the woman’s physical attributes displayed but also the man’s. This is a “patriarchal” approach to using implied sexuality and/or a woman’s physical attributes to sell a product.
4. How does advertising affect body image issues for girls and women? Do you believe that the advertising industry has a responsibility to promote more diverse images of women? Why or why not?
I believe that any girl or young woman that views this add with think that she has to have a butt like this girl to attract a man. There is nothing real about this add, though. Gum has nothing to do with a woman’s physique. The only reason to display the woman here is to also direct the consumer’s eyes to the product. This type of advertising caters to men and women are left seeing that what is beautiful is what is seen on TV or in magazines. In reality, we are all different and this is what should be celebrated and displayed.
5. What kind of activism can people take part in to protest and/or oppose advertising imagery that they find offensive or harmful to women and girls?
The most profound way to protest a product is to not buy it. Consumers drive industry and industry takes the pulse of the consumer such that they know how to advertise there product or service. If consumers demand more creative approaches to advertising that do not demean men or women then industry will follow.
