This first image is the cover of fitness magazine's January 2011 issue. The very first thing you see ABOVE the word fitness is "Special Total-Body Makeover Issue" and in small letters under the word fitness is "Mind, Bindy, & Spirit". This is suppose to be a magazine promoting self-love, total fitness/well-being for your mind, body, AND spirit when the only targeted stories you see is "Drop 2 Sizes in just 4 wks." or "Instant Pretty".

Although these may tackle some fitness issues with your body, what about the mind and spirit? They're included, but in a way that they are being attacked.

ex. "Comfort Food Without the Calories"

Feeling down or depressed? Eat all the comfort food you want without getting fat, but you ARE fat. So....

Do these 5 "quickie"moves to get what we think are sexy legs and tighten your big butt.

Oh, but don't forget to love yourself the way you are while making "simple changes to stay motivated (because you're already lazy, promote your health, and love your life.

This is an ad for Mr. Leggs pants. It says "even though she was a tiger lady (whore) when she saw his Mr. Leggs she was 'floored'". It speaks of objectifying women and physical abuse against them (including rape). He has his foot on her head (intelligence and strength) and she is his rug to walk all over and do whatever else. This speaks volumes to the ignorant idea that men are smarter than women and women are ignorant in a are in a lower class than men. That women are wild animals that men have to take hold of and train so that they won't roam free. Also, because people can kill animals and make them into rugs and such, it's okay to harm women...which is nothing but ignorance.

I love this ad and the commercials. Even though it's a bunch of girls running through the street and may give off the impression of being wild, it speaks of freedom. With real life girls who are growing up in today's society proclaiming how the only person they want to be when they grow u[ is them. They are different, they are strong, they are smart, and they are learning about their freedom and rights...their independence. It also speaks to equality how they have various races present in the crowd of girls. They can be who they want to be and not what society says they have to be!!!

when is comes to advertisements:

I think this ad can go both ways. I don't think this ad exploits women as much as it does in other ads that I've seen or other ads that are posted on this blog but I do think it is a typical one. The first thin I noticed was that it was a celebrity. I think that advertisements that really want to make an impact on the public choose celebrities to star in them. such as the proactive ads with Katy Perry and Vanessa Hudgens. Also commercials with the kardashian sisters (even if it's their own product) my point is is that beauty sells. Especially famous beauty sells. The other thing that I noticed is that the celebrity, Kimora Simmons, is naked. She is covering her breasts and has some jewelry on (the product being advertised) but she's still naked. The other thing that goes along with posing naked and being a celebrity is that you have to have a sexy body. Even if the advertisement wasn't a celebrity, I'm pretty sure that the person posing would be a naked girl with a sexy body.

I know a lot of ads that exploit women typically have women in them, but I think this ad was an exception. I thin this type of ad is typical because it shows an obviously dominant male who looks strong and courageous on a horse. The man is also seems like he is trying to fight away a fire breathing dragon which depicts bravery, which isn't a bad quality but when it comes to the way this ad is depicted I see it differently. When I first saw this ad it just seems like it was your typical prince on a horse which usually goes a long with a damsil in distress. The fact that it seems so typical that the male is the strong one and the women is the the one that is in trouble and needs help can be a little conflicting. Now a days women are trying to make a name for themselves saying that they are also strong, brave, courageous and all of the above. I just found this a typical ad and that really doesn't say a lot about how women can be in the same position.

I like this ad a lot. Although it is basically saying the woman in the ad is fearless after using the deodorant I think there are a lot of good factors in the ad. I like the fact how the woman is smiling and seems to be care free. it also shows her beautiful body in a conservative way. It shows her back not her breasts and her stomach in a sexy pose. This ad is very elegant. I think this ad is a very positive one and it's not your typical myth ad.

I think that more advertisements should be like the one above and empower women. The ad is showing how strong a women can be. I think that most ads degrade women and show male dominance as well as show off women's bodies in a promiscuous way. I think if more ads showed the beauty and strength of a women instead of how they can be dominated it would make a big difference. 

                

This first picture depicts some of the issues we went over in class. Many advertisements use thin, beautiful women for their advertisements to gain the attention of men and envious reactions from women. In this photo, L.E.I is selling their jean shorts. The model is dressed like a young girl with a lollypop, giving her the look of “sexual innocence” which we covered in class just does not make sense. There’s no way someone can be sexually virginal. But this is used especially for male audiences who find this young, vulnerable look in women arousing.

                The second photo really needs no description. It is extremely explicit. The shoe advertisement, clearly to attract male audiences, shows a naked woman, showing nearly everything she’s got. The only thing in the way of the most provocative spot is, of course, the product being sold. The model is thin and toned, yet again telling female audiences that this is the only way you can be in order to be found attractive. Companies would not dare use anyone heavier, or with smaller breasts.

                In this last photo is, what I think, is a real woman. I’ve seen the Playtex commercials that they show lately, and I really like them. They show real women looking for supportive bras. But they show none of those bone thin girls, and they don’t depict vulnerability, innocence, sexuality. They are just real, strong, confident women who have found something that works for them, and it makes them feel beautiful for who they are. 

My images aren't really in order, but I want to start with the bottom photo first. Clearly this is an older ad but I feel like the implications are still in this ad that would be in any sexist ad these day. The woman is lying naked on the floor near what I assume is her husband's shoe and the caption "Keep her where she belongs..." pretty much says exactly what many ads these days are saying. That women should be lower than men and that men have the power to keep their women below them at all times. This ad isn't as racy as the ads we see today, but the message was still there even then

The next photo I want to discuss is the second one. I feel like the Victoria Secret ads are the some of the main reasons why young women have a so many body image issues because these ads are literally everywhere and every single one of them gives the implication that these women are "What is Sexy". Like we talked about in class, all of these women hold such a small percentage in our population of women who's bodies actually look this way, and some of these women have more than likely had some form of plastic surgery. But young women by into this fantasy because they see how men react to the way these models look. I was working out this year while the Victoria Secret fashion show was on and I can't tell you how many guys I saw straining their necks to look at the models as they were working out. It was sickening and a little hilarious at the same time. But my point is that these type of ads are so unrealistic but its hard not to strive to look like these girls when they are continually being thrown in our faces all the time.

The first ad is my favorite. I love the new Tampax commercials that have started coming out this year. Tampax takes something that the society thinks make a women negatively different than men and makes a joke about it. The reason I like this ad specifically is because they use a strong public figure like Serena Williams to advertise it. She isn't the most beautiful or the skinniest, but she is a great women athelete that many girls look up to, and this ad is showing girls that we can tackle something, even as small as our period, and we can be proud of it. Cheesy, I know, but thats what I took away from this ad and I think there should be way more of these out there.

Does Sex Really Sell?

This is an ad for Dove. This ad shows women of different races, and body size. Showing these different women gives a positive image because it shows these different women and they seem to be happy with the skin they are in. Like embrace your self and love your body no matter if you're skiny or if you're cruvy. If i was to create an advertisement I would make on like this to let other women know to love themselves. Thats is okay to have a little meat on your bone. That you don't have to be a size zero to be happy. I would portray a unity of women coming together to promote beauty just like this ad for dove. I would market my ad in magazines that young girls read so they will see something positive instead of "how to lose weight to make a guy fall for you" or some other crazy ads and articles magazines used to tell young girls they have to be smaller to be happy,

This ad is for a the nightclub Prive in Las Vegas. This ad shows a big group of young women on the floor which looks like they are in a bathroom. All the women on the floor look like they can be in college and had a wild time in Vegas. They are all touching or holding each other in a sexual. way. The as promotes that women do not have any self control if they drink. That you could have your way withwomen if you get them drunk. The girl on the bottom right seems to be pasted out and anything could happen to her. Someone could take advantage of her . All the young women in this ad look like they are ready to have sex. What happend in Vegas does it really stays inVegas.

This is an ad is for Equinox Gym. It shows different marks all over their bodies as if they are getting cosmetic surgery. Which sends the message that if you cannot lose the weight in the gym then cosmetic surgery is something you should think about. The ad shows a really hot guy hovering over this one particular woman, he is feeding her grapes which tell the person who looks at this ad that if you lose weigth or get some kind of cosmeric surgery, than you will one day have a really hot guy feeding you grapes. This supposed to make you feel like this is the kind of life you will have after you lose the weight. This ad also shows male dominance, the way the woman is position she is arced back some and looks forced to eat the grapes. The man is looking down upon this woman like he has the power to do so. The Gyms Motto in this ad is "Its not fitness, Its Life." These women are using their sex appeal to sell the gym and to make other women believe that they can be just like them and that their lives will be much happier after they lost the weight.

In the advertisement industry they always say that sex sell. In reality it really does because if the people in the ads are sexy that makes people feel as if they can be just like those people in the ads then they can have the sameyhing the people are trying to sell. People will buy anything if the think it will make their life better or happier.

Ads of dominance

The first image of Dolce&Gabanna shows male dominance over the woman. One man is leaning over the woman, and the other is standing boldly in the background. They both have very serious and dominating postures and expressions on their faces. The woman is lying helplessly on the ground with a vulnerable and weak expression. This ad goes along with the beautymyth that men dominate and control women. Women learn that we are under men's control because of ads like this that influence our mindsets.

The second ad advertising coffee potrays a man physically abusing a woman. The woman is lying across his lap, as if she were a child, with her legs kicking and her hand grabbing the man. She has a frightened expression, and it can be assumed she is screaming. He has his hand up as if he is about to hit her. The caption suggests that if she does buy him the right kind of coffee, she is to be punished, and the picture shows physical abuse. This ad supports the myth of men abusing women just because they think they are above women, and that women exist to please men.

In both of these ads, beauty myths are supported. Women are shown as weak, vulnerable, and subject to a mam's authority, while men are shown as clearly dominant and controlling over women. By looking at these ads, men learn that they are over women and can treat them howevwer they choose, and women learn to be ridiculously submissive under men and keeping men pleased. No wonder some men act the way they do, and women just take it.

This ad featuring the Beckhams actually defies the beauty myth that men are dominant over women. David is the one lying flat, on a rope, in a more vulnerable position, while Victoria is lying over him. She has her hand on his chest as if she is holding him down. While David's expression is still serious, Victoria's expression is intense and controlling. Although many of their other ad pictures show David in the dominating position, this one is the opposite. She is shown to be over David, dominating the role of the authority in this picture.

If I were making an ad featuring a male and female, I would have neither the male nor female underneath the other. They would be equal in position, whether sitting, laying, or standing. I would make the man look masculine, but not controlling, and the female would look pleasant and naturally beautiful, but not timid or vulnerable. With this kind of portayal, neither would look to be dominating the other.

United States of Advertising.

Advertising is everywhere - literally. Just look at Times Square in New York City. Then look around campus. We are bombarded daily with messages that we need to buy, eat, and consume in order to function. Most of these ads target our weaknesses: eating indulgent foods, feeling like we don't look good enough, and just plain not feeling good about ourselves. The assignment this week reminded me of everything that gets thrown in my face via advertising.

An ad for Millennium Surfboards, although I'd never know that if I hadn't read the caption underneath (not pictured here), was the first thing I came across this week while browsing a sports website. Clearly this is sexually suggestive. A guy standing up while a girl kneels in front of him? Sorry if you marketing majors think I'm being dirty and missing the point of the ad, but i think it's pretty clear what they mean here. The male is in the position of dominance while the female is in her position of subservience. Like I said, pretty clear message to me.

This advertisement states, "Why envy when you have NB?", where the "NB" stands for New Beauty, the name of the plastic surgeon it's supposed to be advertising. I think these sort of advertisements bother me the most. They tell women that they can simply have a surgery to add breasts or take away fat, thus taking away their self-esteem issues. This whole idea that "you need to be fixed" in order to be beautiful pervades out society. Instead of telling women, "Why envy when you have your own body?", the marketing experts push upon us the idea that we are the ones lacking, and that they have the cures for everything that is "wrong" with us.

I wish I had a bigger copy of this ad to post. The "tramp stamp" on the girl's backside reads, "Power Sound Mileage". But the way they emphasize these things is.... by a woman's rear end? Sadly, this makes sense in today's advertising. Only the woman's butt is shown, exemplifying exactly what was discussed in the portion of the documentary we watched. She is being taken as a part, not as a whole. Treated as only a piece of meat, so to speak. While I do understand that the product being sold is a tail pipe, and that they also picture the car's bumper, that does not mean they should resort to objectifying the back half of a woman also.

I've never enjoyed the objectification of people that occurs in advertising; it just makes me uncomfortable to think that the half-naked models featured in these ads are someone's sister/cousin/brother/etc. It's hard to escape sometimes, especially when your favorite magazines such as InStyle focus so much on having the perfect look. While there are some companies pushing for diversity in their marketing schemes, the majority still push the idealized body, significant other, and life.