In this critical reflection, I have chosen to analyze the advertising campaign by Unilever’s’ Lynx brand of 2011 and the Burger King advert
These two advertisements highlight major concerns of how further are willing to go to sell their products despite the ethical implications that arise in their wake. Both advertisements use the art of symbolism to pass a message to the general public (Littler, 2009).
As a result, this paper is going to analyze these two advertisements, their implication and then relate them to a wider context of meanings in the society today.
This outdoor ad sponsored by Unilever was run in 2011, and it featured a bikini-clad woman standing under a shower. Alongside her is a text reading “the cleaner you are the dirtier you get.” The woman in the advert is standing provocatively holding her breast with her bikini top part loose as if she wants to expose her breasts. The statement “the cleaner you get the dirtier you get” when related to the picture has sexual connotation attached to it. The woman body parts have been put as “objects” in this picture to arouse the observer or the end consumer who are the users of this product. The tagline for this campaign “the cleaner you are, the dirtier you get” appears to augur well with the narrative suggesting that by using Lynx shower gel, the more naughty you will become in bed
This advertising campaign has the theme of desire and objectification running through it. The adverts show a woman holding her breast as “objects” that directly relate to the tagline which brings the idea of women getting “naughty “in bed once they use this product. The facial expression of the woman in the advert also speaks a lot of the desire of many ladies out there. This is to look hot and sexy for their partners. It is, therefore, evident that they are using this
The major aim of this campaign is to promote the brand. However, the way it approaches this theme is rather stereotypical. The advert is truly showing the position of the female gender as expected by the society and that is to satisfy male sexual fantasies. The female gender are expected to be “dirty” during sex, and they should go the extra mile to ensure they partners are satisfied because it is truly stereotypical of the idea that women as much as they are an equal partner in a relationship the society expect them to satisfy men’s sexual desires and fantasies.( Taylor,2014)
This is further highlighted in the advert through the tagline “the cleaner you are, the dirtier you get.” Also, the fact that the lady posing in the advert is having a seductive look while holding her breast, in a teasing manner shows how the advert has tied in the theme of sexism with the idea of their products being something deluxe.
Burger King, a well-known brand in the USA has come under sharp criticism in the recent past after releasing a series of campaign ads that have been said to objectify women. In my case study, I will analyze the below advert that has caused public outcry from several quarters including regulators from U.K
The advert shows a woman with her mouth open. A few inches away hovers a phallic shaped burger followed with a tag line “It I’ll blow your mind away.”
The above advert depicts oral sex in the contemporary world. The tagline accompanying the advert is even worse than the advert itself. The Tagline “It I’ll bow your mind away” constitutes a rather derogatory statement that directly relates to the act itself. Use of symbolism and objectification of the female gender is highly depicted in this advert.(Berger,2004)
The advert uses parts of the female gender, and in this case the mouth as an object to market the brand. The tagline also associates the act of oral sex which also brings the issue of using women as sex objects into play (Berger,2003).
The advert is truly showing the position of the female gender as expected by the society and that is to satisfy male sexual fantasies. The female gender is expected to indulge in oral sex as part of their role to satisfy the sexual fantasies of their male partners. It is truly stereotypical of the idea that women as much as they are an equal partner in a relationship the society expect them to satisfy men’s sexual desires and fantasies (Chardwick, 2006).
There many issues that arise about concerning two campaign. The main one being the use of stereotypes and gender which has been negatively using to promote the brand. In my opinion, the way women have been objectified in this advert does not only impact on the sales of the product but also impact on the lives of women and girls who see this campaign. According to Egan, (2013) pornographic like advertise will always create the desire to purchase especially by the male audience however it has the negative impact on the lives of girls and young women who spent have of their lives trying to emulate this images of “hot” half naked women in this campaigns.
The adverts also create this notion in their mind that it is right for men to view and treat women as just sex objects whose ultimate purpose in their lives is to fulfill their sexual fantasies and desires.
If these adverts were produced in U.K today, probably they would not see the light of day. The Advertising Standards Authority would have a bone to pick with the brand owners for violating the local by-laws. A summary of the U.K by-laws, section 4 in their CAP code notes that’s all advertising and marketing communications must not contain anything, whether texts or graphics that is likely to cause serious or widespread offense (Cap.org.uk, 2016).This means that any formal complaint from the general public relating to any advert will grant the state the power to pull down any marketing communication after assessing the level of harm and offense the advert might be causing.
If i were part of the marketing team, I would not run this advert. This is because it is illegal in the U.K since it violates the same law I have highlighted above. Another reason while I might not allow this advert is due to the ethical issues that are arising from it. This advert will be seen by both young and the old despite it falling in the category of X-rated adverts. This advert would have a negative impact on young teenage girls who would feel the need to also expose their bodies in the same way depicted in the campaign. Moreover, the tag line “the cleaner you are, the dirtier you get” sparks a controversy on whether it’s ethical to have such an advert in the street due to its derogatory connotation.
The 2011 Lynx campaign portrays a model holding her breasts with a seductive smile. This advert is offensive to the female gender and thus cannot meet the thresh hold of being featured as a good advert. Moreover, the use of models whose physic have been enhancing through the use of image editing software while posing in a provocative manner has become a norm in digital age adverts. This means that most advertisement today use images that have been enhanced to achieve a certain level that would persuade consumers to buy a particular product.
Unfortunately, most of this images are usually of models who are made to pose naked or wear scanty as means to attract the male audience to purchase this particular product
The adverts by Unilever and Burger King company on its brand brings the theme of sexualisation into play. The 2011 Lynx campaign features a woman holding her breasts and also a large part of her body being exposed to the general public.
Furthermore, women have constantly been used to push products even in bigger and global companies that are expected to show respect and professionalism when doing their marketing. The digital age and use of image enhancing soft wares such have Photoshop have pushed the advertising industry into a frenzy. The images of models enhanced by this software have further been objectified by marketers to sell their products.
Despite this, sexualisation of women in adverts has been seen to market products. Consumers have been seen to buy into the idealized images that advertisers have used to attract them into making impulse buying of the products. Hypersexualized images of women have been used to market products at the expense of ethical issues that arise in their wake (Davis,2003).
It is this lack of sensitivity by marketers, and brand owners that have left regulators and local authorities think of alternative ways to bring back sanity in this industry.
References
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Berger, K. 1980 The Developing Person: Through Childhood and Adolescence, Worth
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Brierly, S. 1995.The Advertising Handbook, Routledge, London,
Chadwick, A.2006, Internet Politics, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Cap.org.uk. 2016. 04 Harm and offence – Committee of Advertising Practice. [online] Available at: https://www.cap.org.uk/Advertising-Codes/Non-
Davis, A. 2013. Promotional Cultures : The Rise and Spread of Advertising, Public Relations, Marketing and Branding. Hoboken: Wiley.
Egan, R. 2013. Becoming sexual : a critical appraisal of the sexualization of girls.
Taylor, A. 2014.The people’s platform: taking back power and culture in the digital age
Littler J.2009.shopping for change in contemporary culture.
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