The two ads that were chosen for this Culture Jamming assignment are from Suit Supply. The Dutch suit company exemplifies how our society is under the impression that sex sells. When it comes to this brand, there is no exception of degrading ads for women. The Suit Supply is known for their controversial advertisements where women are objects to amuse the men in these ads. The company’s message is quite clear; if you own one of their suits, women will get naked and have sex with you. The women in these ads are seen as sexual objects; playthings that will do anything for these rich men in suits. In these two ads, there is an aggressive, powerful stance the man has, while the women looks submissive and vulnerable. There is an obvious power dynamic that these ads are trying to portray to their consumers. They want men in society to feel that with these suits they can appear powerful. As well, the men in these ads appear successful to the average consumer. They have nice clothes, are attractive, live in a luxury home, and are surrounded by beautiful, submissive women. These images invoke a form of aspiration from their consumers; that they want to be like these men and therefore, should buy their suits.

The message to society that this is success is quite dangerous because it sets a tone on how we can treat women. It shows that society views successful men as powerful and controlling of the women in their lives. If boys and men are shown these images often, they will start believing it is normal for women to be treated this way. A man who sees these images can be inspired to act predatory, insert sexual dominance, and view women as objects just like these men. Advertisements are reflective of the society we live in which explains why it is not shocking to see all these sexual assault and abuse allegations come forward about powerful men in charge like Harvey Weinstein and Roger Ailes. In order to see a change in this behavior, we as a society cannot continue allowing these violent, dominating images work for these businesses. We have to assert the values our society represents and put our money where our mouth is; by not purchasing products from companies who show women in this way.

My take on the ad is to show what Suit Supply and other companies who use the “it’s a man’s world” narrative should actually do with their responsibility on society. The ad is two parts, as it shows the example of what a powerful man in a suit looks like and then next to it is an example of what a weak man in a suit looks like. The editing seen here is what I believe Suit Supply should do with their platform and advertisements. Side by side lie two men in their suits, however, only one is inspiring and he is sitting on a nice patio rooftop with a nice suit and watch. He looks strong, confident, and successful without having to assert his dominance over a half-naked woman. Then the other man is seen in a dark stairwell lifting up the skirt of a woman who looks vulnerable. To further emphasize the two different men’s action, the ad with the man alone says powerful and the ad with the man and the woman says weak. The idea of this jamming is to show that men lifting up a woman’s skirt like that would be seen as weak in our society, not powerful.

The reason I chose to do this for the jamming exercise is to make a point on the responsibility these ads hold on our society. Men and young boys see advertisements multiple times a day and internalize them. Therefore, these ads should have a good message along with the nice models and nice clothes. The message this ad is conveying is that wearing a suit and taking advantage of a woman is not acceptable, no matter how rich or successful you are. This ad shows that the successful, well-dressed men to emulate do not harass or abuse women, and those who do are weak. If our society has more advertisements with this messaging more often, there could be a change in how men and boys view women and how they think they should treat women.