Introduction
Advertising is one of the areas in business where strategic thinking is very important. This is because of the central role it plays in marketing. It is impossible to talk about marketing without relating it to advertisement. Creators of advertisements always try their best to come with witty and catchy phrases and images that can easily attract the attention of the target audience. The overall message and the individual words and images employed must be relevant and appropriate. There is however an additional element that is predominant in modern day advertisement. This element is the usage of the female body in a huge percentage of advertisements. Does this strategy raise the number of people who pay attention to the advertisements? And most importantly, do these advertisements increase sales? Perhaps the answer to these questions lies in the element of rationality in business in general and marketing in particular. It is not possible to keep on using an idea that leads to losses. Repeated usage of the female body in advertisements therefore means that it is working. In this paper, two advertisements will be examined from two different eras. One advertisement is from the Ebony Magazine of 1965 while the other advertisement is from the Ebony magazine of 2008. What will be the focus in the analysis of these advertisements?
The critical analysis of the two Ebony advertisements will focus on the products being advertised, the implied message, the presumed target audience, and the images used in the advertisements. The two advertisements will be compared in terms of changes in target audience and changes in the appeals being made to women in relation to the product being advertised. The context of the advertisements in terms of time will also be analyzed.
Copies of the Advertisements
The April 1965 issue of Ebony says:
“Why Shouldn’t he stare at her?
It sparkles. Bright. Alive. And she knows it. She put that shiny life there with Long Aid K7.See YOUR hair come alive for the very first time. So very little does so much. Long Aid K7 makes those new soft ‘n curvy hair styles so easy, too. Flatter yourself…try this bright idea in hair dressing. Then he’ll stare at your hair.”(Long Aid K7 1965, p.56).
And the December 2008 issue of Ebony says:
“Wow them in winter white! Mini and Maxi together, reminiscent of the ‘70s, take a sophisticated look to a new level with layers of lambswool.” (Ebony Fashion Fair 2008, p.119).
The Products Being Advertised
The April 1965 advertisement is about a hair product called Long Aid K7.As clearly communicated by the words used in the advertisement, the hair product, Long Aid K makes hair shiny, soft, curvy, bright, and alive. On the other hand, the December 2008 advertisement is about a dress whose color is white. It has been compared to winter in reference to the white color of snow that is witnessed in the deep colds of freezing winter. The dress that is in the market as per the advertisement has layers of lambswool and this adds to the sophistication of both the dress and the wearer; who in this case is the target of the advertisement.
What Message Is Implied In The Advertisements?
In any advertisement, the implied message is the most powerful element. The April 1965 advertisement has a message that is hard to miss. The advertisement begins with the words: “Why Shouldn’t he stare at her?” The idea here is that the woman is supposed to make her hair presentable purposely to attract the male attention. The drive for improving her image through the use of the product, Long Aid K7 is to ensure that the man stares at her. In a deeper sense, the message is that the pleasure of the man should be the reason for feminine beauty. The woman is supposed to dedicate her time and effort to the pursuit of the good image as a way of seeking attention from the man in society. In this way, it is possible to conclude that women are vain individuals whose time is never spent on any serious activity apart from embellishing their bodies with the simple aim of catching the attention of men. The message reduces the woman to an object of beauty and admiration for men. There is no pursuit of beauty for its own sake or for self fulfillment. The fulfillment is supposed to come from making the man stare at the woman’s enhanced image.
The implied message in the December 2008 advertisement is that the woman‘s main aim should be to wow her audience. Her sexy image is a clear indication that she is supposed to dress well for the purpose of attracting the attention of men. The nearly uncovered lower part of her body has sexual connotations. Her sleepy gaze adds to the already racy nature of the image. By the advertisement telling the women to “wow them” with this kind of image or look, it is clear that ladies are supposed to look sophisticated or beautiful primarily for others to see and not to actualize personal desire. The actualization is in receiving attention and being desired by men.
Who Are These Advertisements Targeting?
The April 1965 advertisement is targeting women. Women are known for their dedicated care for their hair and the fact that a woman is used in the advertisement means that the presumed audience is made up of women. In addition to that, the advice to the audience is that once the target audience has made use of the product, Long Aid K7, on their hair, he, meaning the man, will have no reason for not staring. The December 2008 advertisement’s presumed audience is feminine. The image used is that of a beautiful woman and the garment on display is a culturally meant for women. Therefore, both advertisements are targeting a female audience.
The Images in the Advertisement
The April 1965 advertisement has a humble looking respectful woman with a head full of healthy hair. Her gaze is simple and the part of her body that is revealed is just the head and neck. It is the kind of photo that can be described as passport size. Is this because the product is meant for the head only? This is a possibility. But there are numerous hair advertisements in modern days that have full body images. The December 2008 advertisement has a racy full body image of a young woman. The positioning of her legs and the nearly uncovered thighs push the sex appeal of the image to higher limits. It is an image that makes one focus on the looks and position of the lady wearing the dress rather than the dress itself. Are there any differences or similarities between the two images? Have the two eras changed?
The 1960s and the 2000s Compared
The two eras, the 1960s and 2000s have a number of similarities. The 1960s are famous for the sexual revolution. This is the time when women came out to showcase their sexuality with pride. The zeal with which women worked to improve their images was exceptional. The 2000s are not any different. It is true to call this period an extension of the 1960s sexual revolution. Like in the 1960s, women are out to showcase their sexuality to society. It is also true to say that the drive is to be noticed by men. Therefore the search for beauty by women is not for direct self satisfaction. It is for the satisfaction of men whose attention satisfies the women. This is true for both eras. The products being advertised are the same for the two periods in that they are basically the beauty products meant for women. These include hair products like the Long Aid K7 such as the one seen on the April 1965 advertisement and clothes such as the one seen on the December 2008 advertisement. Another similar aspect in the two eras is the appeal being made to women. The appeal in the 60s period is that with beautification comes male attention. The 2000s have the same message that with good looks due to nice garments a lady is assured of male attention.
There are differences in the advertisements from these two eras as well. The images used in the 2000s are more revealing and racy. There seems to be little concern for nudity in the current period. This is not the case with the images used in the 60s.The 60s are more covered images. The reason for this may be due to the undeveloped confidence that was starting to blossom from the sexual revolution of this period. This means that what we are seeing now is the fully grown or highly developed baby whose conception took place in the 1960s.
The General Context…
The sexual revolution of the 1960s encouraged women to take pride in their bodies and not fear to showcase their identity. The search for beauty and as a way of enhancing the appeal of the female body took center stage and the media became a tool for the movement. Advertisements were made to capture this mood. What about the 2000s? In this era, the confidence of women is high and showing nude bodies is not a taboo anymore. The admiration of the female nude has made the number of advertisements that utilize the female nude to spike. The media is full of such advertisements and women are caught in the frenzy of being used as objects. The illusion in it all is that they are marketing themselves in terms of career and social life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the advertisements from the two eras, 1960s and 2000s showcase a terrain that has undergone some radical changes without losing the major elements. The appeal to women to improve their images as a way of attracting male attention has remained while the move towards more revealing images has resulted in advertisements with racy female bodies. The sexual revolution of the 1960s is credited for the new female image. The female image that is being witnessed in the media the 2000s is a product of what began in the 1960s.
References
- Ebony Fashion Fair. “Wow them in winter white!” (2008).Ebony Magazine. (64), 2, pp.119.
- Long Aid K7. “Why Shouldn’t he stare at her?” (1965).Ebony Magazine. (20), 6 p.56).