Sexism in Advertising
Camillia Gould
Professor Keltner
English 105
25, March 2014
We Blame Society but We Are Society Advertisement is a dominant form of social communication in todays’ society. It can be influential in the choices of many people of who are deciding (for example) what trendy shoe or jacket to buy. Advertisements are all around us; from magazines, newspapers, television, billboards, radio, and the list goes on. While they are all around us, advertisements everyday seem to become more compelling to audiences too. There are many questions that pose on many minds, one in particular is how much power does advertisement have over its audiences? Can something with as much as a picture and a few words on it persuade us to alter our beliefs on what we feel our society should look like? In the issue of ELLE Magazine, there lies inside many advertisements, one ad stuck out distinctively. Tommy Hilfiger’s launch of his upcoming spring clothing line. It’s a four page visually attractive beautiful ad. The ad seems to be presented in a college atmosphere vibe. The clothing referring the viewers to notice the preppy school girl looks, to the jock boys, to the nerds, to the professors and more. Hilfiger does throw in some diversity of his models in the spread as well age difference. As you start to pay more attention to the ad you’ll notice the designer isn’t trying to just sell his new spring collection, but also an illusion of what you can be with it. ELLE is one of the world’s best-selling fashion magazine, a magazine built off looks and style. Fashion isn’t often found as being androgynous. In magazines such as ELLE especially it tries to define to us what is feminine and what is masculine in terms of style. ELLE’s target audience is women between the ages of 18 and 49, and directed more towards career driven women. It is a magazine that sells a lifestyle and emphasizes fashion, beauty, entertainment, and health. The title itself ELLE means “her/she” in French, makes
Professor Keltner
English 105
25, March 2014
We Blame Society but We Are Society Advertisement is a dominant form of social communication in todays’ society. It can be influential in the choices of many people of who are deciding (for example) what trendy shoe or jacket to buy. Advertisements are all around us; from magazines, newspapers, television, billboards, radio, and the list goes on. While they are all around us, advertisements everyday seem to become more compelling to audiences too. There are many questions that pose on many minds, one in particular is how much power does advertisement have over its audiences? Can something with as much as a picture and a few words on it persuade us to alter our beliefs on what we feel our society should look like? In the issue of ELLE Magazine, there lies inside many advertisements, one ad stuck out distinctively. Tommy Hilfiger’s launch of his upcoming spring clothing line. It’s a four page visually attractive beautiful ad. The ad seems to be presented in a college atmosphere vibe. The clothing referring the viewers to notice the preppy school girl looks, to the jock boys, to the nerds, to the professors and more. Hilfiger does throw in some diversity of his models in the spread as well age difference. As you start to pay more attention to the ad you’ll notice the designer isn’t trying to just sell his new spring collection, but also an illusion of what you can be with it. ELLE is one of the world’s best-selling fashion magazine, a magazine built off looks and style. Fashion isn’t often found as being androgynous. In magazines such as ELLE especially it tries to define to us what is feminine and what is masculine in terms of style. ELLE’s target audience is women between the ages of 18 and 49, and directed more towards career driven women. It is a magazine that sells a lifestyle and emphasizes fashion, beauty, entertainment, and health. The title itself ELLE means “her/she” in French, makes
Cited: Tommy Hilfiger. Advertisement. ELLE Sept. 2013: Print.