Thursday, January 31, 2013

EOC Week 4: Role of Women in Contemporary Advertisements






    The differences in these advertisements are quite apparent. The roles of the women have changed immensely from the 30's in which the vintage Pep Cereal ad was published to the modern Nike ad.
    Women in the 30's were delegated to household matters. That is all they knew. Cleaning, raising the children, taking care of the husband, were all duties for the woman to attend to. The ad to the right depicts the woman being embraced by her loving husband while her husband says/thinks to himself that the harder she works around the house the "cuter" she is. Her secret? PEP cereal fortified with vitamins! This implies that her beauty solely relies on her status as a housewife. For women to look beautiful they must clean and cook and still have energy to greet her husband when he comes home.
    The Nike advertisement depicts a very athletic woman in underwear and a cut off tank top. She has boxing tape around her hand and is wearing Nike athletic sneakers. To the right of her are the words “My butt is big and round like the letter C and Ten Thousand lunges have made is rounder but not smaller and that’s just fine. It’s a space heater for my side of the bed It’s my ambassador for those who walk behind me It’s a border collie that herds skinny women away from the best deals at clothing sales. My butt is big and that’s just fine and those who might scorn it are invited to kiss it. Just do it. Nikewomen.com” http://bridalmusings.com/2011/03/the-best-nike-advert-yet-fun-frolics/. Women have obviously come a long way since the time of the vintage ad. We have a vast number of options to choose from in regards of what to do with our lives. Rather than stay at home and look “cute” for the husband, the model in the ad suggests women are fiercely strong and independent creatures who are more than merely how they look.

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