Female Representation in Advertising

Objectification - The seeing and/or treating a person usually a woman, as an object. In the representation of woman, this is often sexual objectification.

Gender Roles- For women roles are often limited to housewife or sex object. For men, roles are often represented as the breadwinner and being served by women.

Dismemberment- Cropping and Fragmentation of the female body in media images which encourages objectification and dehumanizing. Often this is the legs or pats of the torso.

Lesson 1: Homework

Lesson 2 - Male Representation in Advertising

Metrosexual- A neologism(a made up word) to represent a changing economic trend in male shopping and representation dating from the 80's. A man who is sexually attracted to women but who is also interested in fashion and his appearance.

Spornosexual- A neologism ( a made up word with sport + porn + metrosexual) The spornosexual is a more extreme breed of man than his metro forebear

A lumbersexual or urban lumberjack is a man who has adopted style traits typical of a traditional lumberjack, namely a beard, plaid shirt, and scruffy hair, substituting otherwise clean-cut and fashionable style choices.

Lesson 3 of Advertising

Aryan Propaganda- A representation of racial ideology and superiority regarding things like, face shapes and proportions, skin color, eye color, hair color, religion, nationality etc.

Abercrombie & Fitch

1. Gender Representation - I think that through this advertisement the image is showing a stereotypical sporty man, standing shirtless on what looks like a boat. The way his body is exposed shows the spornosexual concept with his jeans just barely there. It also attracts the female gaze since woman would be 'attracted' to the man's body.

Russel Reeves - ‘ the hard sell’

• Unique selling proposition (USP) = reason why
• How is product different from others in the market
• Repeat endlessly to increase retention e.g anacin ad → the hammer being repeated
• Reflecting the time period back at the audience by adapting the ads

Bill Bernbach

• Used humor to connect with the viewers
• Using creativity and art

Homework

I think that the article suggests that to have diversity in ads you cannot be only telling a story or trying to show something singular. You should have a range of different ideas and concepts combined or a range of mindsets to be diverse. I think it also suggests that in supporting one concept and one idea in an ad you have to open yourself to the other concepts and difficulties and "invisible" too. In this generation I think according to what I have learn, a lot of the controversies in advertisement and images have gotten worse like the amount of Photoshop being used, the representation of men and women, gender roles etc. From this article about the people with disabilities, I think that before the 2000's there were very very little people who had included people with disabilities in ads, or had published ads about disabled people. But even now there are very little ads about people with disabilities. I think this is what the article was trying to suggest.

Lesson 4 Advertising & Censorship

Advertising Regulation- Advertising regulation refers to the laws and rules defining the ways in which products can be advertised in a particular region. Rules can define a wide number of different aspects, such as placement, timing, and content. In the United States, false advertising and health-related ads are regulated the most. Two of the most highly regulated forms of advertising are tobacco advertising and alcohol advertising.

1. The ads above are advertising, a brand of cigarettes and a brand of chocolate.
2. The cigarette ad claims that there brand of cigarettes create cigarettes, that are healthy for your life, body, especially your throat. While the Maltesers ad claims that there chocolate can help you keep your body in good shape, provide happiness, and a healthy life.
3. The image for Craven 'A' show a healthy women, seated on a tennis net, holding a tennis racket and ball, while in the other hand she is holding a cigarette. The image itself depicts a healthy and good life, while the slogan ' For your throat's sake smoke' suggests that there brand provides cigarettes that are of no harm to your throats, which we know now is definitely false. In the maltesers ad the image is to a very similar concept to the Craven 'A' ad, portraying a healthy life, and a happy life. In the image we can see a woman laying down with whom may be her lover, and a box of maltesers. Adding the previously mentioned slogan, the image suggests that the chocolate will keep your body in a good shape, therefore attracting men to you.
4. In this time period neither of these companies would be able to make the same claims. This is mainly because now with more research and facts we know that the claims that the companies were making are far from the truth and incredibly misleading.

Advertising Regulation Task

1. Identify the groups of people who appear to be most vulnerable to advertising. That is, who are the regulators trying to protect?: The groups of people that these regulations are aiming to protect, are from what I think, younger audiences that are prone to be manipulated easily, such as, children and teenagers, who could be easily influenced buy other people, ads, and social media.

2. Adverts for which products are most strictly regulated? Why do you think this is?: Cigarettes and Alcohol are the products that are commonly the most strictly regulated. Though I think that other products such as guns and weapons, that need to be more strictly regulated. Other things would be age restricted items.

3. In a group, discuss whether you think adverts need to be regulated. What harm might they do (if any)?: We thought that advertisements do need to be regulated. The regulations on different types of ads very much differs, since different people could get affected by different adverts but there should be a limit. Violent and Objectified ads, are the ones that should be highly regulated from younger audiences could be manipulated easily leading to a bad reaction.

4. Create your own set of regulations - about 10 rules which you think should apply to advertisers.

1. All gender genitals should be covered in a way that it cannot be seen.
2. Any form of violence should not be encouraged.
3. You must be able to prove the facts that you present within the advertisement and product.
4. The advertisement should not be degrading to any group of people.
5. If the advertisement is photoshopped or enhance, you should be able state that it is.
6. If the image has been photoshopped, enhanced using factual information, the company must be able to reveal the difference between the original and enhanced.
7. The product must not be promoted using false facts, claims or statements.
8. Whoever is in the advertisement must have consented to being broadcasted and to any Photoshop being used.
9. Smoking, Drugs and Alcohol should not be encouraged.
10. The advertisement should not be exclusive to only one race, unless there is a good reason, for example cultural appropriation.

5. Look at these (controversial) ads from the clothing company Benetton. Would they pass your set of regulations? Would you ban them? Be prepared to explain why or why not.

Almost all of the images from Benetton would not be able to pass my set of regulations, and according to those rules I will ban them. But on a personal opinion I do not think that I would ban some of them, depending on how they are being used and presented to the audience. But regulation wise none of the images would pass, due to the exposure of genitals and explicit content that is not suitable for most ages.

Summary of Super Bowl Advertising

I have learned that the main reason that Superbowl advertising is very expensive and popular is because Superbowl gets so many viewers, the companies advertising will be in profit with the amount of views there ad is getting. Though there are many adverts that have gotten banned and have received a lot of negative response, one being Carl's Jr's 2015 Superbowl ad. This ad is very objectifying to women, degrading to women, and has been made to catch the male gaze. But to be shown in the Superbowl this ad is very inappropriate, since the Superbowl is watched be all ages. While there some adverts like the Always like a girl, which is touching, thoughtful, open-minded, and supporting to all genders and ages. Advertising in the Superbowl may be very profitable but it is at the same time very risky since the adverts responses can backfire on the company.

Lesson 5: Advertising & Censorship

Anna Winston: I think that this film had been banned because of the morbid, scary and creepy scenes being shown in the trailer. The trailer also could be banned because the trailer contains school as one of the main settings, suggesting that it is aiming at school students. The trailer includes shots of hanging feet, suggesting suicide which is a very sensitive topic.

Night-Fest Promo: I think that the main reason that this promo was banned was because the advert had encouraged drinking when the shot of the glass containing alcohol. This was inappropriate to the audience because the audience had ranged from a quite young children, being misleading. While also implying that a 'teacher' drinking. The playing cards could have been assumed to be gambling.

Innovation- Valentines Day: I think that the advert had been banned because the girls dancing together could have suggested that they are a same sex couple, Which could be offensive to many people as well as it could make people uncomfortable.

Exploring the work of the ASA - 2015

1. Moneysupermarket.com: The ad had gotten 1513 complaints, I would say that the nature of the complaints had been relating to the decency of the ad- finding the ad overtly sexual and offensive. The ad had not been upheld. ASA' s reasoning had been "While acknowledging that some viewers might have found the ad distasteful, we did not judge the ad to be offensive and in breach of the Code."
2. Protein World Limited: This ad had 380 complains. The nature of the complaints I would say will be relating to the decency of the ad- being the women in the bikini being offensive. The ad was not upheld. ASA had concluded that the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offense.
3. Omega Pharma Ltd: This ad had gotten 136 complaints, the nature of the complaints relating to the misleading messages relating to body shaming. This ad had been upheld. ASA' s reasoning had been " We banned the ad because it presented an irresponsible approach to body image and confidence."

Lesson 6: Advertising Agency

#SheObjects

http://sheobjects.org/about-us/#campaign

1. She Objects challenges consumers and content creators to think critically about the correlation between the media’s portrayal of women and and eating disorders and self-esteem issues for girls, violence against women and the erosion of female ambition.
2. To make media literacy and critical thinking a core element of the teaching curriculum, especially at the secondary school level.The film’s call to action is for all of us – from governments to the media to brands to individuals – to be more thoughtful about this issue and to take action to object. Individuals in particular can stop being passive consumers and instead use social media and other platforms to bring about real and positive change.

3. They are a part of a wider campaign since the videos are just part of a bigger video, a bigger idea. Including all the posters, interviews, ads, films, websites etc.

Investigation: How does an Advertising Agency Work?

1. Advertising Agencies Have Clients: What is the purpose of a pitch in the agency/client relationship? The usual way an agency gets work is through a pitch. A pitch is an audition, with the client giving a brief to a number of advertising agencies, and choosing the one that best resolves the brief.
2. Everything is Problem/Solution Driven: Explain who has the problem and who comes up with a solution in the context of the agency/client relationship? The ad agency is there to solve problems for its clients.The client is there to present the agency with its problems, and when it needs solutions.

3. The Process of Creating Advertising Campaigns: Create a flowchart to represent the process involving the client, the account manager, the creative team and the creative director?

What are the different departments of an advertising agency?

Copywriter(Creatives)

They work with client briefs to conceive, develop and produce effective advertising campaigns. Copywriters also work with media planners/buyers and the production department to fully develop the advertising campaign. Some of the skills required for this is the ability to write good , excellent teamwork, communication and interpersonal skills, logic and the ability to work under pressure and to meet tight deadlines. Some of the main responsibilities would be, presenting ideas to colleagues and clients, familiarizing themselves with their clients' products and services, the target audience and their competitors' activities, amending, revising or redeveloping adverts or campaigns in response to feedback from the creative director, account team or clients, monitoring the effectiveness of advertising campaigns etc.

Art Director

Advertising art directors, often known as 'creatives', produce innovative ideas for the visual elements of advertising campaigns in all kinds of media, including:cinema and television,internet (digital/viral marketing),posters,press,radio. Skills that are needed include: the consistent ability to produce and communicate fresh ideas and visual concepts, excellent organizational skills with the ability to prioritize work and multi-task, team-working skills, an understanding of the advertising process etc. Some of the main responsibilities in this job are: working closely with the copywriter to generate creative ideas and concepts to fulfill the client's brief, visiting and assessing locations for potential shoots, pitching ideas to clients.

Account Planner

Advertising account planners are responsible for creating the communication strategy for an advertising campaign.As a planner you'll be responsible for writing the formal brief and providing the ideal environment for creative development.You'll combine market data, qualitative research and product knowledge within a brief to enable the creative team to produce innovative ideas that will reach consumers. Some of the skills that are important to be an Accountant Planner is to be successful as an advertising account planner you'll need to be creative, imaginative, skilled at thinking strategically and a combination of analytical skills, curiosity, and a strong interest in people. Some of your responsibilities would be to liaise with clients to identify specific business problems and develop ideas, run research groups etc.

Account Executive

They are responsible for the coordination of advertising campaigns and therefore communicating clearly to all those involved. They manage administrative and campaign work and ensure that advertising projects are completed on time and on budget.The role can involve handling multiple accounts and the hours can be long in a competitive environment. Responsibilities include : meeting and liaising with clients to discuss and identify their advertising requirements, arranging and attending meetings, making 'pitches', along with other agency staff, to try to win new business for the agency, etc. Skills that are needed include : effective team-working skills, the ability to work under pressure and assimilate large quantities of information quickly, while maintaining attention to detail, flexibility etc.

What Role Do I Want to Play And Why?

I would like to play the role of the account executive. This is because I think that I have a lot of the skills that are required in this job. Some being: the ability to work under pressure and assimilate large quantities of information quickly, while maintaining attention to detail; drive, resilience, to enable you to deal with problems and constructive criticism, and flexibility.