The Problematic Ad: “Real Men Know Real Beer Taste”
Analysis of the Original Ad : “The Problem”
In our society, advertisements and commercials are like mirrors that reflect the standards of our culture and societal norms. Yet, some of the advertisements wrongfully defines gender and cultural injustices. For instance, many alcohol marketing industries stubbornly clings to and portrays the outdated gender inequalities. This advertisement of “Black Label” beer company also reflects gender stereotyping and conveys the idea that beer is only for men. The slogan, “Real Men Knows Real Beer Taste”, subtly employs the message that women do not drink beer. Even though the ad does not mention anything about women and drinking beer, the underlying yet loud message shows that this is just for men. Moreover, the concealed idea promotes sexism that women are not “manly” enough to consume beer. The advertisement can further be translated into various marketing systems and social media which can lead the consumers to buy into this myth as a fact. The society could be laboured under the misapprehension that it is unladylike for women to consume beer.
Why should women be neglected from representing beer brands?
Beer is not exclusively for male species and the sexiest component shows how this beer advertisement is chauvinistic. Ladies who consume beer is no less of a women just like how men are not less masculine when they drink a glass of beer. In many alcohol industries, females are often misrepresented as innocent people who never drink ; it is unnecessary for an ad to explicitly exclude women when it comes to alcohol consumption. This may lead our future generations to think that women who consume alcohol lack femininity and to set absurd expectations for women to not drink.
Jammed Ad : “Cool People Know Real Beer Taste”
Jammed Version of the Ad
The objective of this “culture jamming” was to reveal the real intentions of the ad and their use of gender stereotypes to sell the beer. The new version of this advertisement includes an image of people, both a male and a female, drinking together and the alteration in the advertisement slogan.
First, I have eliminated the word “Real Men” and replaced it with “Cool People”. The word “Real Men” excludes women and sets a preposterous standard for women in terms of drinking. It is also anti-progressive to our societal norms and gender justice. Additionally, I have added the image on the right with a couple drinking to indicate that it is not just men who can drink, women can too. I felt the need to share that there is no harm in how people perceive their beer when women and men are both featured as leading roles of the advert. It is essential to challenge the gender roles they portray to the targeted audiences.
The goal of the jammed advertisement was to acknowledge the overt gender stereotyping and exclusion of women in the alcohol industries. I found it exasperating that the original ad failed to recognize women and merely assumed that women are not manly enough to drink beer. In our society, women in the past and the present are often being oppressed from gender inequalities. Advertisements like this is further neglecting women’s societal values when both men and women should be seen as important figures in the community. Furthermore, the ads like the original can prevent our society from promoting gender-neutrality and pose a problem with regard to sexism. Our society is constantly exposed to various advertisements that influences our thinking and behaviour.Thus, it is extremely important to tackle potentially harmful gender stereotypes that instills gender roles and unfair outcomes in our society.