This essay aims to find out the typical characteristics of a female-centred advertisement and a male-centred advertisement, and how does advertisements usually brainwash audience practically to enhance their sales. Visuals would be mainly analysed and also texts occasionally, using the photographic art critique approach, i.e. to see how 'vision and visual images are expressions of power relations' by analysing how the audience see the images and how the producer exert the power of such way of seeing over the audience, and Michael Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar. The Revlon advertisement starring Halle Berry and Noah Mills and shot by Brian Bowen Smith, and the Stella Artois advertisement shot by Annie Leibovitz are chosen for the analysis, which both are found on the internet.
Gender representations in advertisements have been criticized as gender-biased and are utilized as a means for enhancing revenue of entrepreneurs. For example, beliefs such as "ageing is bad", "fat is bad", "body hair is bad", "natural body odour is bad" are promoted in advertisements so as to make the audience believe these are true. The companies can then successful increase sales such as anti-aging cosmetics, fat-free food, hair-removal cream and antiperspirant spray. Repetitive brainwashing using advertisements can simply make the "actual reader" be assimilated to become the imaginary "ideal reader" that the advertisement aims to promote the goods/service to unconsciously.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Overview: Revlon – A Female-centred Advertisement
1.2 Revlon – Good Relationship is Largely Effort of the Female
1.3 Revlon – One Should Look for Authentic Love
1.4 Overview: Stella Artois – A Male-centred Advertisement
1.5 Stella Artois – Sexy Woman and the Minor Male Protagonist
1.6 Stella Artois – Objectification of Female
2. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
The primary objective of this study is to examine the distinct characteristics of female-centred and male-centred advertisements, specifically analyzing how these visual representations function as mechanisms of influence to increase consumer sales. By applying a photographic art critique approach and systemic functional grammar, the paper explores the power dynamics and underlying narratives used to shape audience perception.
- Analysis of gender-biased marketing strategies in contemporary advertising.
- Investigation into "brainwashing" techniques used to transform actual readers into ideal, consumption-driven subjects.
- Comparative study of female-centred campaigns and their framing of intimacy and relationship maintenance.
- Examination of male-centred advertisements regarding sexual objectification and the projection of power.
Excerpt from the Book
Revlon – Good Relationship is Largely Effort of the Female
The Revlon ‘Love is On’ campaign seems to be telling one message repeatedly: good relationship of a couple is largely the effort of the female, one Youtube video published by Revlon claimed to have found that 97% of couples have their relationship enhanced if the female do a daily makeup routine (Karsch, 2015). The advertisement concerned in this article, also does the same by cutting the first part of the original quote, which undermines the importance the value of personal relationships to intimacy and love. Relationships are something that requires the effort of both parties as they are something bilateral. The omission makes the audience think that what amounts to intimacy is the use of Revlon New Revlon Photoready Airbrush Effect Makeup rather than good personal relationships. Since it is a product for ladies but not men, it implies that it is solely the females’ responsibility to attract males.
The enjoyment of Halle Berry’s neck by Noah Mills also strengthens this point by suggesting that intimacy is created by female attraction to the male, and it is the female who needs to do something but not the male. Interestingly, this approach is quite the opposite of what some scholars have found for what makes an effective and popularly-accepted female-centered advertisement in the era of the third wave of women’s movement. Lazar (2002) found out that female-centered advertisements tend to emphasize that mutual effort should be put into a relationship rather than only by females, because females tend to invest in relationships that contains more resources, i.e. the male’s academic level, wealth, intelligence, and of course including the male’s time and willingness to spend on the relationship. Females are observed to take into account seriously regarding the input on relationship by males. Products which make a fortune from females, however, cannot justify the importance of the product by emphasising mutual input because then the product becomes not a necessity.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the theoretical framework concerning gender representation in advertisements and defines the scope of analyzing Revlon and Stella Artois campaigns.
1.1 Overview: Revlon – A Female-centred Advertisement: Details the layout and linguistic components of the Revlon advertisement featuring Halle Berry, emphasizing its visual structure.
1.2 Revlon – Good Relationship is Largely Effort of the Female: Critiques the campaign's message, arguing that it incorrectly shifts the responsibility of relationship maintenance onto women.
1.3 Revlon – One Should Look for Authentic Love: Analyzes how the advertisement manipulates concepts of "true love" and intimacy to create a necessity for beauty products.
1.4 Overview: Stella Artois – A Male-centred Advertisement: Describes the visual composition of the 2013 Stella Artois commercial, highlighting the contrast in focus between the pianist and the female figure.
1.5 Stella Artois – Sexy Woman and the Minor Male Protagonist: Discusses the use of operant conditioning through the sexualized image of a woman to influence male purchasing behavior.
1.6 Stella Artois – Objectification of Female: Examines the linguistic and visual objectification of women in the slogan "She is a thing of beauty" and the overall representation of the female body.
2. Conclusion: Summarizes the findings, contrasting how female-oriented ads disguise consumerism as relationship labor, while male-oriented ads utilize power and objectification.
Keywords
Gender representation, Advertising, Female-centred advertisement, Male-centred advertisement, Consumerism, Visual analysis, Systemic Functional Grammar, Intimacy, Objectification, Power relations, Operant conditioning, Gender bias, Marketing, Social construct, Beauty industry.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research?
The paper examines how gender representations are utilized in advertisements to influence consumer behavior and increase revenue for entrepreneurs.
What are the central themes discussed in the text?
The central themes include gender-biased marketing, the construction of female-centred versus male-centred narratives, and the psychological mechanisms used to objectify subjects for product promotion.
What is the main research question?
The research asks how advertisements effectively "brainwash" audiences and what typical characteristics define female-centred versus male-centred advertising campaigns.
Which scientific methods are applied in this study?
The author uses a photographic art critique approach to analyze visual power relations and Michael Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar to interpret linguistic choices.
What topics are covered in the main body?
The main body provides case studies of Revlon and Stella Artois advertisements, analyzing their visual layouts, slogans, and the societal implications of their messaging.
Which keywords best describe this work?
Key terms include gender representation, visual analysis, consumerism, objectification, and systemic functional grammar.
How does the author define the "ideal reader"?
The "ideal reader" is a concept used to describe how advertisements attempt to assimilate the actual consumer into a specific mindset that identifies with the promoted goods or services.
What criticism does the author level against the Revlon "Love is On" campaign?
The author argues that the campaign wrongly suggests that relationship success is primarily the responsibility of the female through the use of makeup, thereby undermining the necessity of mutual effort in relationships.
How is "objectification" demonstrated in the Stella Artois advertisement?
Objectification is identified in the slogan "She is a thing of beauty," which equates a female to a non-living object and utilizes her body to arouse male interest in purchasing beer.
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- Kwan Lung Chan (Autor:in), 2019, Analysis of the 'gendered' advertisements from the perspective of text and visuals, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/906411
