With the rise of media industry the business in advertising has also risen up. Today, ads are scattered everywhere and they are multiplying each day. Ads take up more than half the space in successful daily newspapers and consumer magazines. They are inserted into trade books and even textbooks. Internet has become another crucial space for them. Ads are seen in every nook and corner and thus people are being familiar to the message they intend to convey. Despite the intended message the stereotyping meanings carried by the ads create negative impacts upon society at the same time.
Discussion
Over the years, critics and consumers alike have complained about the stereotyping in mainstream advertising (Campbell, 2000). Likewise, stereotypical portrayal of women has generated considerable controversy. Ads offering women as a man's reward for drinking a particular beer, wearing cool jeans or smoking right cigarette have still stereotyped women. Although women today are often portrayed in a variety of social roles many sexist stereotypes still persist in advertising (Campbell, 2000).
Let us look at an ad of Signature a product of MC Dowell
Nepal Limited. This ad is widely seen in different mainstream media since years back and even these days. From business point of view the advertiser has successfully attracted many customers by this ad. However, there are still more perspectives which we can view through and thus consider it offensive when talked about gender difference and bias.Description of the ad
This ad is published in 'The boss' an English monthly magazine that targets its audience to the sector of business. It covers a full page area and is published in four colors. This is an ad of a hard drink product and ultimately aims at attracting more customers towards it. The ad has following components that make the ad more effective in terms of attracting customers:
• Context and visual elements: The ad shows a context of enjoyment or possibly a hangout. It has attractive and romantic scenery of an ocean which helps establish a romantic mood for the characters.
• Image of the product: The Product is placed in the right side of the ad. It has a close up picture of bottle of Signature with a half-filled glass by its side.
• Characters: There are five characters of which three are male. Among them two male characters are sitting at the fence of the ship they are traveling by. Likewise, a male character portrayed centrally is being pulled by two female characters. Those two males are taking photographers for fun.
• Text: The ad also has some text or words. At the top-right side of the ad the words 'Success is very demanding' is written with bold white colored fonts in the dark green background. Likewise, just below the logo of the advertiser 'Success is good fun' is written with golden color which suggests the advertiser's name.
• Logo or brand: At the right middle part of the ad signature's logo is placed with shining golden letters in it. The ad also tries to attract audience by its brand name too.
• Plot or activity: The characters involved in this ad are in a trip to somewhere away from their workplace or hometown. They are traveling by a ship. Their goal seems to be a successful person. And since success lies in fun, signature can help them attain it. This is all about the message conveyed by the plot.
Interpretation
Though the ad looks attractive at a glance, it has stereotypical messages contained in it. The words 'Success is very demanding' is associated 'Success is good fun'. Then, the fun is associated with the beautiful girls shown in the ad which the drink can bring them together. The female characters are presented as sex symbols. Generally stating, the majority of beer drinkers are men. By including attractive women in such advertisements, the underlying message is that if men drink a certain type of beer they will be able to attract a certain type of female.
Sex appeal: We often see ads that feature superficially beautiful or "desirable" models, so it comes as no surprise that sexual imagery is used to sell products. But depicting people this way can also contribute to socially offensive practices. The dress up of the girls with half-down naked shown in the ad suggests that they are sexually attractive. How effective would the ad be if boys shown in the ad were half naked instead of girls? And would the ad draw equal attention if there were no girls? It seems that girls are only as important as the drinks shown in ad for both of them are the means to create fun for the boys.
Gender stereotypes: Two girls are getting it difficult to pull a boy with their entire effort. This depicts that girls are inferior in terms of physical strength. Despite the joint effort of both of the girls, here the man is in the control. "Usually the men are very masculine. They have big muscles or they're very successful. Being shown as sensitive doesn't compromise the masculinity, and that's interesting that the only way you can show a sensitive man is if he's already successful in other ways of being a man" (media-awareness.ca, 2010). The words like success in good fun suggest the stereotypical views that the ultimate goal of any man is to have beautiful girls around him and enjoy with them with all expensive drinks and luxuries. Meanwhile the ad portrays the girls' success lies in satisfying men. In this sense it seems that its not just product that is being advertised, gender difference is often shown in other points of advertising.
Democracy and Cultural in stereotyping: Democracy has provided enough freedom to people for the own way of life. The picture shows maximum freedom in characters that they are free to enjoy the way they like. Though girls are shown enjoying outside they are again in control of men. Their role has changed from households to outside but again have the same job to satisfy men at any cost. Being dressed up as per the men's choice and devoting totally for their enjoyment, their role is still inferior. Likewise, culture plays a vital role in advertising. Since this ad is targeted to high class Nepali people it focuses on luxuries which are new to Nepali Culture. Another way overlapping with Nepali stereotype is that only hard drinks and girls are the source of good fun. Accordingly, the ad says that both girls and drink are demanding fun which are required to achieve success.
Conclusion
Based on above discussion, it is evident that expensive hard drinks or luxury products are directly associated with female body as a source of fun for men in advertisement. This has always contributed in underestimating female. Their representation in the ad is just for catching attention of men towards the product. On the other hand the more closely female are associated with the product the more successful the ads prove to be. In other words these ads like of alcohol present female as the luxury products for men's consumption. Likewise, the cultural dominance is seen like in case of what product a high class people consume and what the poor doesn't. And of course, alcohol should not always be associated with sex as that of the ad suggest.
References
1. Media Awareness Network (2010) Learning Gender Stereotypes Retrieved from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/lessons/secondary/ gender_portrayal/upload/Learning-Gender-Stereotypes-Lesson-Kit.pd
2. Campbell, Richard. Media and Culture. 2nd ed. 2000. 362-364
3. Photo taken from: The boss. 2007. Jan 15-Feb 14. Page 21.
