Representing Ourselves in Ads

            “Advertising has become sexual harassment,” (James B. Twitchell of Adult USA, as cited by Cortese). An “overlooked method of socialization,” (Kellner) advertising has successfully created an unnatural cultural schism between men and women, and between hetero and homosexuals. Companies invest money into creating a mythical, WASPy, perfect world that emphasizes taught gender identity (Cortese). In fact, “U.S. society invests over $102 billion a year into advertising, fully two percent of our gross national product, far more money than education,” (Kellner). This money funds a growing, unseen divide in our population, one that is neither beneficial to our society nor necessary to sell goods.

            The current accepted advertising strategy is to create a problem and increase anxiety, convincing customers that they need a product to act as a solution (Cortese). Unfortunately, because “US makers continue to be uncomfortable addressing women,” (Steinem) ads often play on women’s anxiety to achieve that mythical, perfect norm, as well as on the expectation that men should confirm women’s anxieties. Ads either call forth the “perfect provocateur” or take a postmodernist approach, using slogans such as “Relax. You’re ok. Improve your beer,” to relate to customers who already feel that they are wiser than the industry (Cortese).

However, they are usually not. We do need to improve our industry, to portray real people and beneficial ideals in our ads, and to stop alienating women from important positions in society. Today’s ads sell by conveying that “a great man risks all for intellectual daring,” while “things happen” to a beautiful woman (Wolf). Frustratingly, in ads, “women are allowed a mind or body, but not both” (Wolf). To counter this, real women must participate in the making of ads. They must be able to take on leadership roles in the industry, and put themselves in positions that allow them to portray the true ideals of women in the thousands of ads that bombard our society every day. Ads that say so much about who we are as women and men, that give us a sense of what we can and cannot do as women and men, must be developed by both women and men. 

Ann Fudge, a former CEO of Young & Rubicam Brands, was inspired by Martin Luther King’s assassination in the 1960s; the chaos surrounding his death and the realization that African American women, like herself, were not portrayed as high achieving people inspired her to break the glass ceiling, complete her education, and enter the realm of marketing. There, she was able to promote the idea that real people can dictate what ads look like, and that ads can portray real people. Anne Fudge eventually went on to join President Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Pamela El, an African American woman who was formerly the VP of marketing at State Farm, is known for expanding State Farm’s business by promoting ads that related to real people. Her ads were relatively gender neutral, and catered to both younger and older drivers. El even went on to receive Marketing Exexutive of the Year title in 2008, all without propagating gender and racial divisions in advertising. In fact, some of the most successful marketing professionals have been women who have avoided establishing a gender divide in their ads.

“'…women don’t understand technology,’ say executives at the end of ad presentations. ‘Maybe not,’ we respond, ‘but neither do men- and we all buy it,’” writes Gloria Steinem of Ms. magazine’s struggle to stay afloat in an increasingly sexist ad industry that does not appeal to its readers. In fact, there is no reason to demean gender or leave out race or sexual orientation to run a successful ad campaign. “It’s obvious that Ms. can’t exclude lesbians and serve women,” (Steinem) and it’s obvious that successful ads can’t serve society and exclude women. “Quit using our cans to sell yours,” (women on beer, Cortese).

Clark, Danae. “Commodity Lesbianism.” P142-151.

Cortese, Anthony. “Constructed Bodies, Deconstructed Ads, Sexism in Advertising.”

Kellner, Douglas. “Reading Images Critically: Toward a Postmodern Pedagogy.” P126-132

Steinem, Gloria. “Sex Lies and Ads.” P114-120.

Wolf, Naomi. “Culture.” The Beauty Myth.