Women in Advertising

As many of us know, women are objectified in advertising. I don't think this is a new phenomenon or that the people in society are unaware of that fact. The truth is that it is everywhere. The difference is that now we are really starting to get a sense of what this means and how we are really portraying these women in a male dominated society. 

Be a tiger an wear stripes

In this ad we can see almost every behavior used in advertising to depict male and female. It is also quite disturbing if you really take a look at what this ad is saying. It is an advertisement for dress shirts with stripes. As the caption says to hold that tiger it is referring to the woman in the ad. However, the woman is not depicted in an animalistic state at all, aside from the fact she's in stripes and in a cage. Through the analysis presented by Sut Jhally we can see what is really going on with this woman. First of all she is in a seated position and holding her legs. From this we can see that she is not being depicted as a strong and wild tigress, but as a defenseless and vulnerable kitten. She is also looking off to the side in nowhere in particular which seems to make her look distracted and unaware instead of a wary and cunning jungle cat. Her head is also slightly canted and her torso has also been contorted somewhat which further promotes the fact that she is vulnerable and submissive. Also, I feel like the fact that she is without shoes further implies that she is weak and unprepared. 

If we take a look at the man we also see the traditional stereotypes associated with him as well. He is seated which is not typical but his legs are crossed and his back is an an extreme upright position which signifies that he is still in control of the situation. He is also looking directly back at the viewer which demonstrates a sense of wariness and knowledge. Also, his hand is gripping the top of the cage in a firm grasp to show his power over the woman whereas she is merely lightly clasping her hands around her knees. 

Even our flag is objectified

The most obvious depiction of man's domination over women is the fact that the woman is in an iron cage and the man is sitting on top of it. You couldn't get a better image for that purpose. You can also see that there is a giant padlock which is just sitting there and not really holding anything down which shows that the man himself is enough to contain this "tiger". One more thing that shows how man is valued more than the woman is the caption itself. Notice how the second word "tiger" is capitalized whereas the first is not. Many would not notice something that seems so trivial but we subconsciously put more value on a word that is capitalized than one that is not. 

Overall this ad is the epitome of objectivity of men and women in advertising. To think that all these messages are being communicated simply to get you to buy a striped dress shirt is quite astounding. As the caption below the ad states, "you'll have those kittens seeing stars - and stripes - forever" it even makes the connection that by purchasing and wearing these shirts, you will even make your country proud by being patriotic. 

What Is Media Literacy?

illustrates how we are stuck and trapped by media

What is media literacy really? When you look at the word you could just take it at it's suface meaning and asume one of several things. Is it the ability to read and interpret different forms of communication? Is it the ability to understand what a film is trying to communicate to the audience? Is it the ability of a person simply to know what media is?

The answer is yes to all these questions but it is also so much more. There are many facets to media literacy and would be difficult to describe in full detail every facet there is. So we must take a broader look at the subject and try to break it down into components that are easy to digest and understand.

There are many schools of thought on how to bring media literacy to the discussion table. Some believe that it is simply the ability to be aware of the media forces that surround us on an every day level. Others can see far deeper into the matter and bring out facets that have very little connection with the world around us. The fact of the matter is that no matter what school of thought you choose to follow, every one of them as got some grain of truth in what they are trying to say.

Media literacy is hard to define. So what I will attempt to do is simply bring up some broad points and observations about media literacy without going into tremendous detail about them. As stated before there are many ways to define it and even more ways to study it so a broad analysis is the best way to approach it.

One definition of media literacy is stated as being the ability to process and analyze the information presented to us everyday in entertainment, informative, and capital outlets. The basis is to try and ask questions and think critically about the media that is presented to us. We have the capability to go deeper into the advertisements and entertainment that we see everyday. Whether or not we do so is where media literacy comes into play.

There are several different ways that we can analyze these media outlets. Certainly we must take them into consideration because each way of looking at them will yield a different conclusion while looking at the exact same thing. One site has taken on the challenge of informing the world about media literacy in order to prepare us for living in a world where we are bombarded daily with media. The Center for Media Literacy has a very basic but very important way of educating on the topic. They have a four step process to understanding the media; Awareness, Analysis, Reflection, Action. This basically means to identify the information, analyze what it means, think of how it relates to you, and do what you deem best about this information.

These are all very critical ways of looking at media literacy and they are extensive. However, these are ways to view it from an academic and very scholarly view point. What about our culture and everyday level? How does it relate to me?

Well we can take that into consideration as well. When we are watching a movie or surfing the internet, try not to just be a sponge and soak up every drop of information highway road kill. Take a second and actually think about what is being put in front of your eyes. If we actually take the time to SEE what we're LOOKING at, we would discover that the world has got a lot more out there for us then just what our eyes are telling us.

Many of the things that are presented to us in the media don't even register on a conscious level. They are worked into our sleeping minds and our planted there and influence our thoughts and actions without us even knowing about it. This is where the everyday part comes in. We can't just sit there and let whatever the world wants to throw at us seep into our minds. We should regulate it and actually scrutinize what we allow ourselves to think about. Without the conscious thought about the media, we would all just become zombies and do whatever the talking heads tell us to do.

Media Studies can be a very scholarly and academic pursuit, but it should also be a personal issue for all of us. Without the media we wouldn't be the society we are today. Without media studies, we would all just be what society told us to be without exercising our free will.

Frithsquatch

Eating Jack Link's beef jerky will make you as legendary as sasquatch

When looking at a messin with sasquatch ad, one might notice several things about it and interpret it to be any number of different things from comedic to informative. Using the Frith Analysis, we are able to take a deeper look into what these things might be and what the advertiser is trying to communicate to us.

First of all would be the surface meaning or the quick glance analysis. When looking at the ad you will simply notice a sasquatch figure holding a bag of Jack Link's beef jerky while standing in the woods.

From the advertiser's intended meaning we have to take a slightly different approach. In the ad we see that this sasquatch is a wild and mythical creature and yet he is holding a bag of Jack Link's beef jerky. From this we can deduce that the advertiser is trying to get you to see that this product is as wild and mythical as sasquatch himself. The upside is that you can get your hands on this product and experience the wildness first hand.

Wildness of sasquatch is captured in this image

Finally we can look at the ad from an ideological and cultural point of view. From the television ads we can see that the guys that are eating the Jack Link's jerky are wild and fearless for picking on sasquatch who has been a symbol of campfire horror stories for years. We associate sasquatch with fables and legends and when we see this legendary creature being humiliated by men eating Jack Link's jerky, we associate their tenacity and bravado with the jerky. Conversely we are being shown that by getting this product, we will be brave, wild, and fearless.

The only problem is that by the end of the ad, sasquatch always has his revenge on his antagonists. However, in the mindsets of so many Americans, that still will not deter us from wanting to seek out this legendary creature and pop a paper bag behind his ear or making him smack himself in the face with shaving cream.

Favorite Ad Campaign

Sasquatch with his prize

My favorite ad campaign has to be that of the Jack Links messin with Sasquatch ads. The success of putting a mythical creature into an ad campaign without having it come off as being cartoonish is amazing to me.

Though the sasquatch in the ads almost looks like a deformed Chewbacca, the overall look is pretty hilarious. Big Foot has been depicted several different ways in the past. From the super scary to the extremely comical. Trying to find a balance between the two that actually works must have been a challenge but they pulled it off rather well.

Jack Links got one of there biggest breaks from their partnership with the world poker series as a sponsor. Through this partnership, Jack Links got a lot recognition. From there they launched into a massive ad campaign and from there came the messin with sasquatch angle.

The ads are great and pretty funny. However, I don't quite get the connection between beef jerky and Big Foot. The only relationship I can see is that maybe Big Foot enjoys the meat and is a carnivore but they don't really portray him as being a predatory type. The specifics of the ads are lost on me but the overall effect is still pretty amusing.

Jack Links ads may not make perfect sense but their beef jerky is still delicious. I usually don't get it though because no matter how delicious they are, they are ridiculously expensive and I usually just get the generic brand. But don't tell sasquatch that.