What's important is the impact of what they show?
In advertisement, it is of Paramount importance to create impact when it comes to show something and sell a product. As Andy Warhol claimed, you have to make it visible to the audience.
As in Art Spiegelman's "Maus", the second half of the 20th century gives much more importance to visual aspect, more than the linguistic form that was the previous focus. Nowadays, we can see how advertisement focuses on making impact on the audience, in order to sell a product, even if the image shown has no relation with what is actually being advertised.
In the previous videos, we can see that, even if they are advertising lingerie, they still overuse sex in order to get attention. This is an example of RUPTURE since we can easily unite meaning between sex or sexual aspects and the use of lingerie.
However, there are some cases in which we cannot find any relationship between the image shown and the actual product being offered.
In this case, as in Warhol's art, it's clear that what is important is the image being shown, the impact of the advertisement, more that the product itself.
I do tally with the idea that making impact, even if that implies using sex as a tool, is helpful and might be engaging for the audience. However, I do think there is a difference of epic proportions when it comes to sell a product and to overuse sex, loose the real message and being tacky.
Do you think this type of advertisement shows only FRAGMENTS of life? so it can be considered light art?
Do you feel appealed or identified with this type of advertisement? does they incentive you to purchase or use certain brands or products?
Do you think these advertisements shapes the way our society sees beauty, sex and lifestyles?
It is quite simple actually: if what you are selling is as good as you claim it is, then you don't need sexism to promote it, period!
ResponderEliminarOn the other hand, regarding the use of visual support, I don't think it plays a role more important than the linguistic form. It seems to me that artists use images to express what they want to say in a clearer way, due to the fact that a text itself can lead to ambiguity, therefore, to many interpretations of the same idea.
This's my intensely personal thought: I believe that these sort of advertisements do shape how we see beauty and sex. For instance we are accostumed to the blonde, skinny, tall and perfectly tanned woman and the fighting fit tall robust man as the conception of beauty . The other day i was watching a video on which some teenagers and youngsters were asked a barrage of questions and also took a battery of tests regarding their concept of beauty. A wide range of images that depict women and men, all of them physically different from each other. the subjects of study must classify them as beautiful or ugly. The outcome came as no surprise,. What they considered beauty correlates with what the advertisements you have posted portray. So these advertisements virtually shape our conception of sex, beauty and so on. In my case, albeit i've tried not to given in these stereotypes, they do have a sort of ''effect'' on me. It's hard to resist to those ''tempations'' called brands and products since not only the market, but also the media are flooded by them.
ResponderEliminarI also believe this kind of advertisement has a noxious effect on the conception of beauty, the same way that romantic movies have on the idea of love.
EliminarBut we have to accept that these impossible ideas of body perfection somehow can encourage people to take care of themselves, by exercising more and eating healthier.
Take into consideration that publicity is based on a utopian world in which people can get anything they want without doing much effort to gain it. For instance, you can use the example of beer advertisements just as Escudo or Heineken, men are able to get the most beautiful woman in the world just because they drink a specific beer brand. This utopian world is just that, not a true representation of the world, and the good thing is that many people don´t buy those conceptions anymore.
EliminarFrom my point of view, those types of advertisements are nothing but strategies to sell products in the market. I think that those types of advertisements should not be considered as light art since they do not give a profound message that can make you reflect on something. Besides, one of the characteristics of art is that you can have different interpretations of the same piece of art, but in advertisements the image presented is what it is. There's nothing behind that.
ResponderEliminarRegarding the other question I tally with Felipe's point of view as mass media shapes our perception of beauty, sex, relationships, among others. Advertisements show what is being trendy or popular in society. Publicity can even make you feel you should buy an object because you need it when in reality you don't. There is a similar effect on perceptions as through images there we are being told what is "correct", what is "beautiful". When in reality beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Regarding your questions, I would say that this type of advertisement shows certain aspects of life that are not 100% real, like Paris's commercial. In that sense, advertisement nowadays appeals to motivate customers to buy certain things based on the ad instead of the real product.
ResponderEliminarI haven't been identified with advertisement, especially when they talk about stereotypes about women at the kitchen or men and this World Cup fever. I reckon advertisement has evolved and now it's too vague and fake. Commercials show us blond and skinny women wearing the best jeans ever when in Chile most of women are pretty let's say "normal".
Does they incentive me to purchase or use certain brands or products? I would say that even though I reckon advertisement isn't the same as before, mass media does pretty well their jobs and sometimes I but things I think I need. Thank God it doesn't happen very often.
I believe my classmates have a point when they talk about the influence of advertisement in shaping the way society sees beauty, sex and lifestyles. In Chile, a pretty woman is a blond, tall, thin, hard-working and sexy who always feels and looks perfect, but what happens when most of the Chilean women are not like that? Beauty in advertisement is a serious issue. We only have to remember this Photoshop controversy. Women and men roles plus their lifestyles are also clearly stated in ads. Again, “Mr. Músculo” offering a woman solutions for cleaning faster. A sexy woman offering a group of male friends a beer wearing a bikini.
This time I have to disagree with José since I believe ads don’t fully motivate you to be like the type of women shown in them. On the contrary, I’d say they “torture” Chilean women since we (I included myself) would like to have those bodies, attitudes, etc. Unfortunately, we face reality and it’s not as ads show.
All in all, I’d say advertisement is an issue that is being considered nowadays regarding the Photoshop controversy and these fake stereotypes that aren’t present in our society.
I tally with all ideas they has been posted here. I think that we have to be careful with publicity's violence when it comes to these fake ideas of what reality is. I think this has a strong relation to education and how we grow up thinking that beauty, sex, relationships or beauty are. We have to bear in mind that publicity aims to sell a product, an idea, a way of living life or being successful. but It depends on us to deal with that information, images that flood the market and that we cannot avoid.We have to decide if we want to believe in that reality, if we want that life, if we aim to be as the woman or man in that advertisement or if we will fight to be ourselves and be proud of who we are, no matter what publicity states.
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