Content Warning: NSFW material
Original Advertisement
Part 1 – Deconstructing the Advertisement:
The “hidden messages” in this add are anything but subtle. The image is advertising men’s cologne, the headline stating it is “the first fragrance for men from Tom Ford”. My initial reactions to this advertisement were, “If this is a fragrance for men, where are the men?” and, “What is the connection between ‘female’ breasts and men’s cologne?”
Typically, companies will advertise their products by using relatable images or videos of the targeted consumer using the product; however, in North American advertising women used as objects to entice men to purchase “male” products. In North American advertising, women are continually objectified and hyper-sexualized. Often, this happens in much subtler and indirect ways, so much so that it has become normalized and, in some cases, expected. In this advertisement it appears Tom Ford is taking this subtle sexism and, with intentional irony, using a blunter and strikingly flagrant approach. There are so many problematic messages in this advertisement, the most striking being:
- Sex sells, no matter the product
- It’s ok to objectify women if it drives sales and profit
- (Heterosexual) men will buy anything if it’s advertised with a naked woman’s body
I will be jamming the blatant sexism in this advertisement by tackling (i) the (seemingly) casual yet brazen objectification of the woman in the advert and (ii) the use of female nudity to perpetuate the harmful stereotype that a man has a one-track mind with a sole focus on sex.
Jammed Advertisement
Part 2 – My Jamming Philosophy:
My jammed slogan “Because it won’t sell if it doesn’t have tits” is meant to highlight two things. First, I wanted to emphasize how much North American advertising relies on the objectification and hyper-sexualization of the female body to sell products. If a product isn’t associated to a sexy woman, it won’t sell. It seems as though this is the default assumption made by thousands of marketing teams. Second, I wanted to highlight how our society, which is driven by systemic patriarchy, portrays men as simple-minded animals who are only driven by their carnal and animalistic desires for sex. This cologne is being marketed to men, but is using the image of “female” breasts to sell the product, as if to say, “This product couldn’t possibly sell unless we make it sexy.” The way advertising is fed to men greatly contrasts the way it is fed to women. Products which are gendered for “women” are often advertised with the underlying messages of, “This is how to be sexy for him,” or, “You’ll look more beautiful/sexy if you use this product.” Conversely, the underlying messages in advertisements for products gendered for men are akin to the messages of this Tom Ford ad. These messages hint that if a man buys this product he’ll get the girl, or he’ll get her body. Advertisements directed at women are saying, “This is what you do to be appealing for him,” while those directed at men are saying, “Use this product and she’s yours by default.” These messages convey that everything a woman does is for the sole purpose of pleasing “him” while anything a man buys gives him rights to the body that is sold along with the product. These images go so much deeper than risqué women; the messages behind these images are damaging contributors to both sexism and rape culture which are so innervated in our society.
Lastly, while the term “tits” is colloquial and even considered derogatory by many, I thought it drove the point of my jammed image further than if I had used the word “breasts”. This image is derogatory and blunt, much like the connotations of the word “tits”. I wanted a jammed slogan that was just as shocking and direct as its image and I believe that the use of that word does the best to emphasize my message.
Works Cited:
Shayon, Sheila. #WomenNotObjects Campaign Challenges Ad Industry. Digital image. Brandchannel.com. N.p., 29 Jan. 2016. Web. 02 Feb. 2017.<http://brandchannel.com/2016/01/29/womennotobjects-012916/>.
