Rose Petal Cottage

Rose Petal Cottage

What is wrong with the advertisement?
Where do I begin? The playhouse is clearly only for girls. The problem lies with what the children are asked to do with the playhouse. They can bake, they can clean, they can do laundry, or they can take care of a baby. All of these things are the domestic chores of a stay-at-home wife. Allowing little girls to play in this manner is conditioning them to accept the role society deems acceptable for them. The children are being raised to believe that this is what women are supposed to do.

What can be done to fix the advertisement?
My group came up with a few ideas to make the advertisement less gender stereotypical. First, add boy children to the ad. In the original, there were only girls, so adding male children will help. Next, change the coloring. The colors of the playhouse were very soft, pastel-like pinks, yellows and purples. Very girly colors. Adding some darker blues and reds will solve this problem. Finally, adding some new activities to the house would help too. Things such as an office or a den or a garage.

The product is meant for girls, but it is advertised and used in a sexist and unacceptable way.

Gender Stereotyping

Gender Stereotyping

Food, beer, sports, and girls. That’s what every guy wants, right? An advertisement for Bennigan’s baby back ribs clearly believes this is true. The ad solely contains an attractive woman wearing a referee outfit holding a plate of ribs. That’s it. Is this ad effective? Probably. Is it ethically right? Probably not.

This ad takes women and food and puts them in the same category. It makes women seem as if they are like food or watching sports, or in other words, just another pleasure or luxury for men. The ad states, “The best rack in town” which is clearly referring to both the rack of ribs and the woman’s breasts. The objectifying of women is something that is far too common in the advertising world, and this is a result of the power sex appeal holds.

Racial Stereotypes in TV or Movies

Racial Stereotypes in TV or Movies

Does the show you’ve chosen reflect racial and gender diversity?
The television show I have decided to focus on is called Lost. The show debuted in 2004 and ran for six seasons. An airplane crashes on a deserted island and is left with about forty-five survivors. It is up to them to use what the island provides them to survive until rescued. The group is quite diverse in many ways. There are many white people, from both Europe and America, some black people, Asian people (one who cannot speak English), and some Latino people. However it seems as though there are more men on the island than women, and there is only one child. Diversity is important in a television show because the show needs to attract a broad audience. An audience of many different racial and gender backgrounds. For example, if there are no black people on the show, a black person could be less interested in watching it, and that goes for every race. This show does a good job of making it interesting for both male and female viewers.

Are there any racial stereotypes in the show you’ve chosen?
There are absolutely stereotypes in the show. The leader and protagonist of the program, Jack, is a white male doctor in his thirties. He is rich and smart and powerful, and of course…white. Sayid is a former Republican Guard member for the Iraqi military. The middle-eastern man is very good with computers and technology, and is often looked at to find some way to connect with people off of the island in hopes of rescue. Shannon is a beautiful young white female on the island. She does not help contribute anything to the other survivors. Instead she works on her tan and continues to apply make-up. And finally, Kate, is also a young beautiful female on the island who everyone seems to like. The thing is, Kate is a convicted felon who was being transferred to another prison on the plane. Because she is a beautiful female, a convicted felon is the last thing people think she is. Stereotypes are everywhere, and some do more harm than others. As a society, we have to show the power to not completely buy in to the stereotypes of today.

Racial Stereotyping in Advertising

February 23rd 2013

Racist Stereotyping in Advertising

Companies will do just about anything to sell their product. But does that make it okay for their advertisements to be racially stereotypical? In my opinion, some stereotypes are okay but there is a fine line that can be crossed. People need to understand that this world is filled with stereotypes, and just because some are exploited more than others, it does not mean they are true. Some people say that Asians are more advanced at mathematics, but the fact that this notion is being said a lot does not make it true 100% of the time, and therefore there is no reason to be offended. With that being said, there are stereotypes in advertisements that are completely unnecessary.

A lot of racism in advertisements took place in the 1960’s and earlier when racism was very prevalent. However, there are still racists advertisements that come out every now and then. A print advertisement for Dove body wash for women that came out in 2011 crosses the line. The ad shows two pictures of skin, one looking scaly and dry and the other soft and moisturized. The word “before” is on the dry picture and the word “after” is on the moisturized one. The problem with that ad is the three women and the order they are in. It starts with the dark woman, next to the word “before,” then next is a little bit lighter woman, and then finally there is a white woman next to the word “after.” The advertisement makes it seem as if having lighter, whiter skin is better or more beautiful.

I believe advertisers should have ethical responsibilities. They are given a medium that is capable of reaching a huge audience, and with that comes responsibility. It is immature and unethical to use racial stereotypes in advertisements, as it may not even make the product sell better in the first place.

Semiotics

February 13, 2013

Apply semiotic analysis to three advertisements: one television, one print, and one outdoor.

The goal of an advertisement is to entice a consumer into buying a product. There is a trick called semiotics that help advertisers do this. Semiotics are signs and symbols placed into advertisements that trigger an emotion or feeling from the consumer. An ad that executes semiotics well can make the consumer desire a product without really having a need for it.

State Farm insurance launched a few television commercials that featured a “magic jingle.” A person who was in some sort of predicament would sing, “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there” and a State Farm insurance agent would appear. This gives the consumer a comfortable feeling, as if State Farm has there back should something ever go awry. Some of the commercials also have another person try to get help from their different insurance company, who is no where to be found. This makes State Farm look much more dependable.

When the iPod came out, Apple launched an outdoor campaign featuring colorful billboards. The advertisement featured a person listening to an iPod and dancing. The person was completely black, and the background was a solid color. These billboard advertisements used the fun and wild aspect of dancing and music to entice consumers.

A magazine ad for Longines, a watch company, makes two different images look similar in a semiotic way. A woman dressed in a very fancy and elegant dress is next to a watch that is positioned to look just like the woman. This makes the viewer think the watch is very fancy and elegant, just like the woman. The advertisement is completely black and white which adds to the elegance.



Popular Brands

February 7th 2013

Why is a particular brand important to you? What is its relevancy?

Brands are a popularity contest. There is usually one brand, or in some cases a few brands, that sticks out from the rest of the brands in its field. It is more popular, hip, fashionable, and sometimes just a better product. Some people argue that they are immune to the whole brand hoopla, but I think they are lying to themselves. Everybody has one brand he or she would pick over another. I think mine is Mercedes. One day I will own a Mercedes automobile. To be quite honest, I cannot even tell you why I want one so badly. I have just always looked at that particular auto brand to be superior than the other luxury car brands such as BMW, Lexus, Audi, etc. A friend of mine thinks BMW is better, and he is not wrong, nor right. Brands are just a matter of opinion. I am from Northern California where a particular brand of coffee reigns supreme. Dutch Bros. coffee is a chain of drive through coffee shops that range from Northern California to Southern Oregon. There are about 400 (slight over exaggeration) of them in Redding, California, where I am from. I rarely drink coffee, and that puts me in the minority. I cannot check Facebook or Twitter without seeing someone post, “Just got Dutch Bros., sooooooo gooood!” or, “Got my Dutch for the day, I am set.” Dutch Bros. is ridiculously popular. I have no doubt in my mind that the company’s popularity allows them to dominate the Northern California coffee industry. People don’t go to Starbucks in Redding, they go to Dutch Bros. Gaining popularity is the most important thing a brand can do.