https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyN1J7RqsbY Vanish White
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuolDtCniKc Boss Cologne
The first ad, “Vanish White” is a prime example of the perpetuating stereotype that women are primarily responsible for domestic tasks. The main struggle of the woman in the ad is that her husband’s clothing is stained; showing the stereotypical submissiveness of a wife to her husband. The Stereotype in this add effectively sets the stage for the plot and sets the audience’s expectations for the ad. The stereotypes present in this ad reflect the Role-Product Congruity Theory, which suggests that we associate both genders with certain product categories; in this case we associate females with domestic work and cleaning.
The Second Add, “Boss Bottled: Man of Today” features the celebrated actor, Chris Hemsworth. Hemsworth features many of the ideal western physical male features and embodies the stereotypical male in modern advertising. He is tall, muscular, dresses fashionably and is successful in his career. Hemsworth is shown to be in the foreground and stands above everyone else in the ad; implying that he is dominant over his peers thanks to the product. Hemsworth only has one very short interaction with the product, after that he walks around the city and holds a motivational monologue. Therefore Hemsworth has both a active and decorative portrayal of the product, however it is mostly decorative.
The Final Ad, “Mezzo Mix” strongly stereotypes women and uses them to support the decorative portrayal of the product. The ad features a man drinking a soft drink, the drink is so delicious that multiple women kiss the man. This strongly supports the idea “sex sells” and objectifies the women in the ad. All the women in the add are thin, promoting the idea that the ideal woman’s weight is below average. This stereotype is featured again at the end of the ad when a woman also orders a soft drink, but this time a zero-calorie version. This is another strong example of the stereotype that women should be thin and should watch their weight.
I agree with the stereotypes you have identified within your response, however the use of advertisements with similar products/the same industry, as well as a comparison of the advertisements would have been much appreciated in order to go into depth regarding the evaluation of the product/industry as a whole (commonalities in the advertisements)- although the products appeal to different senses (visual, smell, taste) and would have been interesting to compare. The description of the advertisements was very helpful to convey your interpretation of the advertisement and it's ideals. After having watched the advertisements, I understand why you have identified the stereotypes this way, and am surprised that you were able to find advertisements which were similar (neutral tones in the first and second ads) and very different (action music in the third ad versus a sensational(?) tone and light music in the second ad). Good job, mister Paulino
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