Morgan Lanyon
Commercials: the bane of society’s existence. Whether it is the overly catchy tune, the unlikely plot line (or rather lack there of), or a random interpretation of celebrities, advertisements all succeed in producing exasperated groans and eye-rolls.
The thing about ads is not that they are played far too often. Of course it is annoying that I as an individual can not go one day of watching TV without hearing the same cheesy, overzealous voice of a businessman attempting to thrust his product into my life. The thing about marketing tactics that really grinds my gears is that fact that women are continuously being pushed into being a sex symbol, and through this they move further away from the product.
In American society today, the impressionable youth have been witnessing this representation of women, and consequently, they are thrown into their personal ring of fire. By viewing a tall, attractive, 100 pound blonde woman inviting consumers to buy a new mascara, or whatever the product may be, the teenagers of today put themselves onto a pedestal, and strive to become that model, through in many cases, whatever means necessary.
What needs to be understood is that not every single commercial needs to have gorgeous breasts or the perfect bikini. That is not an honest way to present society as a whole, and especially the product being advertised. No super thin model lives off of Carl’s Jr. burgers, and yet, there she is, inviting every obese American to join her.
And if this objectification of women in advertisements isn’t enough, there is the fact that many of these horrid marketing disasters are played repeatedly.
I most certainly cannot play a game of “Trivia Crack” without seeing Kate Upton’s boobs bouncing as she rides into battle. If this “Game of War” app continues to thrust their ads into my life, then I most certainly WILL NOT DOWNLOAD IT. And yet the ad gets the job done, drawing in young teenage boys worldwide, inviting them in with the promise of violence, excitement, and of course, boobs.
This tactic of using beautiful women in advertisements to appeal to the consumer enrages me beyond a point of recognition. I find myself scowling at models, all because they do their job. And yet, their job sets horrible standards for women globally.
Do not even get me started on the advertisements that feature “sexy” scenes to draw in specific demographics. Why does an ad for a domain company need to show a beautiful supermodel kissing an unattractive male? It may appeal to some of the viewers, but it disgusts the rest of society. I would much rather see what the product has to offer and how it can enrich my life than see Bar Refaeli’s tongue down some “nerds” throat.
Maybe it is because I am a girl, but I see no real reason into these commercials except to get men to buy the product. It is horrible to degrade women in this way, but these ladies know what they signed up for, so hey, that’s the industry.
The products that these over-sexualized commercials offer are not items that lean toward the female population. A greasy cheeseburger, and nerdy game, or a beer company, these things are obviously directed towards a male audience. And so the marketing geniuses of the world use the only tactic they know how to bring men in: sex.
Marketing is a giant trap to drag people in and purchase meaningless products, and to do that, they use sexy women that end up flooding our TV and cell phone screens with unwanted images. If society changed the standards of what type of female they want to see on their screens, then maybe women around the world will realize that we are more than “things” to be objectified in the media.
