Unnecessary Ideas

We can not avoid ads

Advertising is in every form of media we look at, TV, Internet, newspapers, films and radio. On TV, for every hour of a show, 15 minutes are full of commercials. Basically the show is only 45 minutes long. While reading a newspaper, most of the paper is full of advertisements. There is not a day, which we can go without running into an advertisement. Weather its browsing online and all of the sudden there are ads surrounding the page you are on. Perhaps it’s driving or getting on the subway, where there are plenty of billboards with ads in them.  This is something we cannot escape because it has become part of our lives and its everywhere we look at. Are all these ads something we must take into consideration to show us the perception of what normal should be?

Diesel Ad showing that being Smart is not the way to go.

“Culture stereotypes women to fit the myth by flattening the feminine into beauty-without-intelligence or intelligence-without-beauty; women are allowed a mind or a body but not both” (Wolf, 59). As ads have shown throughout the years, many of the images on them portray ideas that as consumers take into consideration. Expensive clothing advertisement is mostly the one that will sell false ideas. Big corporations having so much money and trying to double their finances will invent anything to have a consumer spend their money. They know that sex sells and for the most part anything that is ‘sexy’ will attract a mass medium of females. These hierarchies are coming from the high end fashion brands, in which the intended audience is always the person will money and power.

Axe Campaign showing Sexism but always making it as a joke.

“Advertising’s approach to sex is pornographic: it reduces people to objects and de-emphasizes human contact and individuality. This reduction of sexuality to a dirty joke and of people to objects is the real obscenity of the culture.”(Kilbourne, 124) To certain people advertising might not be harmful and they won’t consider it as nothing else but a joke. In some of the products being advertised, they will appear to be magical. (As if it has some sort of special powers). Men are the ones that are drawn by the funny and powerful false advertising all of the time; these advertisements are showing the truth about sexism. The demographic of the young male that is just looking to have a good time with women are the ads that have become the most sexist.

Popular culture comes into play because as consumers, watching celebrities that we might watch films of or listen to music of, promoting certain brands and companies. Large amount of money have been invested on advertising, to make more money from consumers. That money should really be invested in fields that are necessary such as education. We too go out and buy the stuff that is being advertised, brand loyalty that exists with some brands. We don’t really need much more advertising once brand loyalty has been set up.  Women are not the only ones being affect it by advertising, but also have race and a demographic that doesn’t not have enough money. Violence is also related to the adverting industry, in which being mainly and tough will sell more of the items that are being shown to a certain demographic.

All of these things that are advertised won't make us any better for the most part. They will make us hate ourselves because we cannot look like the models in the ad or do what they models are doing. If there is one thing that all of these big corporations want to get in return from their ads is money, they want people's money. Sex sells and companies know that, but why not try to show knowledge on these ads? By imposing knowledgeable ads, it will expand into a greater demographic. Teach people things they never knew before by implying it in advertisements. “Subverstising uses the power of brand recognition and brand hegemony either against itself or to promote an unrelated value or idea” (Cortese, 49). In this world full of ignorance and self-consciousness, a great deal of people will believe anything they see and hear on advertisements. The point is that advertising is such a great platform to spread great ideas or to show the human race how evolved we have become. Most of these ads do not sell the idea of reality. What advertisements can do is change societies misconception of what reality is and what it truly and successfully becomes for the greater good.  They have being doing it throughout all these years, just that this time in the correct way.

Wolf, Naomi. "Culture." The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used against Women. New York: W. Morrow, 1991. Print.

Kilbourne, Jean. "Beauty and the Beast of Advertising." Media & Values 1989: 121-25. Print

Cortese, Anthony J. "Constructed Bodies, Deconstructing Ads." The Pop Culture Zone. N.p.: Wadsworth, 2009. 52. Print.