Advertisements that are featured in magazines feature both products and people. These ads can further be divided into the categories of “glamorous” products, like perfumes and clothing, and “non glamorous” products, such as antacids and cleansers. In order for the advertisement to work effectively the product must be directed at the correct audience. Therefore, each of these products had patterns as to the type of product being sold and the attractiveness of the people used in the ad of the product. One advertisement was for Calvin Klein’s One, a scent for men and women. This advertisement contained many attractive males and females.
The males were naked and their genitals were covered by a bottle of One. They had perfectly chiseled bodies that glistened in the light. Each was posing as to accentuate a specific part of their body. The females were scantily dressed, as well. A black satin cloth that was waving in the wind was the sole thing that covered the women. The lighting reflected off of each of their lips.
The aura of the ad was very sexual and sensuous. An advertisement for the clothing store The Gap contained a highly attractive female. She had shoulder length hair blond hair and light blue eyes. She was sitting down with her legs crossed, dressed in a tight white shirt and a tight pair of blue jeans. Her smile was ear to ear and pearly white.
In this ad the female was portrayed as the ideal beautiful woman, with blond hair blue eyes and a slender body. These two advertisements are advertisements for “glamorous” items. In each of the advertisements attractive people are used to try to sell the product. It is a tactic of self-fulfilling prophecy, that is people look at the ads and believe that they, too, can be that beautiful person in the ad. An advertisement for Maalox antacid contained an elderly man. The page was divided in half with before and after pictures.
The Essay on How advertisement effects people’s lives
As Americans we are exposed to advertisements everyday. People are pressured from every direction by advertisements which exploit their deepest fears, attractions, needs, and desires, shaping their behaviors, goals, and thoughts. They are led into believing false information and promises that are mostly never kept, all for the simple reason of selling the product and making profit. We see ...
The before picture had the man with a look of great pain on his face and he was groping his stomach. On the corner of this picture was an extended hand with Maalox, trying to give it to the man. The next picture, the after, displayed the man smiling and normal. This advertisement was used to show the soothing abilities of Maalox.
Windex glass cleaner’s ad contained a housewife. She was wearing a blue robe with her hair up in curlers and fuzzy slippers. She is pictured scrubbing a bathroom mirror with her bottle of Windex in hand. This ad is portraying the stereotypical housewife in order to sell the product. The above two products are directly aimed at specific target audiences. The age of the male in the Maalox is an elder man because the target audience are the elderly.
The Windex ad uses a housewife because she is performing a household task. Hence, it is not a coincidence when a person of a certain gender or age is placed in an advertisement.
