For my jammed advertisement, I wanted to highlight the harsh realities that men who take Viagra recreationally at a young age will likely face in the long run. I wanted the jammed advertisement to reveal the hidden facts behind the original advertisement that Viagra didn’t want the audience to realize. The new slogan “Man Down” communicates to the audience that taking this drug at a young age will actually cause severe health problems and also a more severe form of erectile-dysfunction at an older age. Therefore, trying to reach the purported socially accepted standard for men by taking drugs that enhance your sexual capabilities will ultimately do the exact opposite in the long run. The original advertisement fails to portray the negative side effects of the drug, rather it promotes taking risks in order to attain the socially accepted standard for men by using the slogan “Man Up”. That is why I felt as if the “Man Down” slogan would do a sufficient job of revealing the grim facts behind the recreational use of this drug at a young age.

The original advertisement tries to convey what the optimal male should look like and how the optimal male is confident with his sexual capabilities. However, with my jammed advertisement and the slogan “fake standards” underneath the hammer, I tried to invoke that in the real world there is no one appearance of an optimal male. Every man is optimal in their own way and should feel comfortable in their own skin. Men are born with hereditary qualities that they can’t change so why try to be something you weren’t meant to be. We as men need to break these social standards and shouldn’t let advertisements sway our perspectives of ourselves. We shouldn’t live up to the expectations of others, especially in a way that would be harmful to our health and well being. A company as large as Viagra shouldn’t be promoting the recreational use of drugs. They are ignoring the health concerns of young males by doing so and in my opinion this isn’t an ethical form of advertising.

The advertisement I decided to explore features a well dressed young man who is holding a large hammer across his shoulder. At first glance it may seem as though this young man is modeling for a high end clothing company of some sort. However, once you take a closer look you realize that the advertisement is actually made by Viagra and it is directed towards men with erectile-dysfunction, more particularly young men. The advertisement attempts to communicate to the audience what the optimal male should resemble. The main focus of this advertisement is on what the optimal male is capable of rather than focusing on selling the actual product, which is done at the bottom of the advertisement in much smaller print. By portraying a young man who is well dressed and holding a large hammer across his shoulder, Viagra attempts to get young men to feel insecure about their own sexual capabilities and to seek a way to enhance them.

The advertisement displays the slogan “Man Up” in bold letters across the young mans chest. It conveys the message that in order to be considered a real man, you will do whatever it takes to achieve that status, no matter the health risks. It also implies that if you can’t get erect that you are not man enough. For a condition that is uncontrollable for most men, Viagra is creating self doubt amongst young men. They are trying to persuade young men to consider using their drug in order to become more like the optimal male. However, what they don’t address when releasing the advertisement are the health related problems that young men who take this drug will inevitably face as they get older. It ignores communicating the major side effects such as possible loss of vision, seizures, deafness, bone pain, and trouble breathing. There’s a lot of pressure on men to live up to a certain standard that is considered “socially acceptable”. For Viagra to promote the recreational use of a drug that is meant for older men to a younger audience is socially and morally unacceptable.