Advertising is full of our media. In convergent media era,
Internet and mobile advertising revenues grow strongly. Even though people are
tired of advertising, it still becomes a part of our daily life as well as
media. People become less and less patient. In order to catch customers’
attention, advertisers try their best. They don't only sell products; they also
“sell values, images and concepts of success and worth, love and sexuality,
popularity and normalcy. They tell us who we are and who we should be.
Sometimes they sell addictions”(Kilbourne).
We are
familiar with the ad of Marlboro cigarette. However, at the beginning, the
targeted consumers were women. Advertisers built a feminine image to Marlboro.
A pretty young woman holds a lit cigarette looks at you
smiling. In the cigarette, we can see the ivory tip circled. Obviously, it
leads to the caption “Ivory Tips Protect the Lips”. Her beautiful shaped lips
are being protected by Marlboro cigarette. This ad is a very good example to
show us, the advertisers tell the ladies who they are and what they should
behave. The advertisers link the products with this elegant image that carries
positive messages to increase sales. If ladies are exposed to this ad every
day, their way of thinking might be affected. No doubt, people usually say that
advertising guides their thinking and actions through visual ideas.
Later,
Marlboro changed their marketing subject. They started to target male
consumers. Marlboro man was born. A masculine image is made. A cowboy takes the
reins while riding a horse and walking in the mountains. The slogan “Come to Marlboro Country,”
promised to build a country with control and autonomy.
The advertisers use a cowboy with control and autonomy
connotation to tell us what it is like to be a man and what a man should do.
Masculine cowboy’s image brings success to the brand Marlboro. According to
Piotr Wrzosiński, “Marlboro Man since the beginning was an incredibly
successful campaign with direct impact on sales. Within just a year Marlboro
from a niche brand with a 1 % market share went to top 4 position in the U.S.
Market. By 1972, Marlboro was the most popular cigarette brand, and it holds
this position since then”(Wrzosiński). In the ad, the cowboy character has
successfully associated with the dominated role in patriarchal society. The
character is responsible for “control and autonomy”. It is easy to tell how
males are perceived in our culture.
In
different Marlboro ad campaigns, we can see how advertisements tell us what it
means to be a man or a woman. It is a way of gender advertising presentation.
At some point, we can say the advertising defines gender. On the other hand,
from the perspective of male gaze, women are usually portrayed as sex subjects.
“A woman's presence expresses her own attitude to herself, and defines what can
and cannot be done to her”(Burger, Ways of Seeing 46).
Therefore, looking great becomes more important for women.
Consumers anticipate the products will make them look amazing. Hence, ads shape
the way women should be. In this point, gender defines advertising. However,
women in this kind of ads are perfect. They are young and attractive. They have
perfect body shapes. They are no flaws. They are built in the virtual world,
not reality. Kilbourne describes them Killing Us Softly.
As we know, advertising can affect our way of
thinking. It heavily influences our behavior. Kilbourne claims, “Women are
constantly exhorted to emulate this ideal, to feel ashamed and guilty if they
fail, and to feel that their desirability and lovability are contingent upon
physical perfection”(Kilbourne).
It can cause a lot of
problems. It does not only affect adults, but also teens.
Works Cited
Berger, John. Ways
of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting, 1972.
Kilbourne, Jean. “Beauty
and the Beast of Advertising”. Medialit.org.
Center For Media Literacy.
Wrzosiński, Piotr. “A
Marlboro Man Story”. K-message.com.
K-Message, Jan. 29, 2014.
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