Feminist Advertisements: 10 Powerful Ads That Empower Women

Introduction 

Feminism is defined as the belief or perception that both men and women need to share equal opportunities and rights, politically, economically, or socially. It could also emphasize on the women’s rights to proper information regarding choices about their lives. Acker (2012) noted that feminism and advertisement have a developed a unique relationship in the contemporary life. An advertisement is part of a marketing procedure that plays a significant role in influencing people's choices and ideas regarding goods and services and potentially informing their decisions to purchase. Armstrong et al. (2015) asserted that it is, therefore, a paid form of promotion or non-personal presentation of ideas by a sponsor that aims at disseminating information about products and services. Today, it is increasingly difficult to find a large scale organization that does not utilize advertisement as a means of boosting their sales. Important to note is that companies have resorted to advertisement strategies that trigger consumers to purchase the goods or services by emphasizing on their believability concerning the functionality of commodities (Cohen, 2014). Furthermore, advertisements are used as a market strategy aimed at strengthening a brand and enhancing customer loyalty. Due to the competitive nature of the business environment, companies must continuously reinforce their brand image using advertisement (McCarty, 2013). Advertisement and feminism form an essential discourse about the aspect of gender representation. Advertising has a significant effect on the perceived gender roles, especially where women are used in a manner inspiring stereotypic images such as inequality, over-sexualization, and traditional gender roles. 

Contextualization 

An example of a recent advertisement that has since raised feminist sentiments from the general public is the "Audi-Daughter Super Bowl 2017 Commercial." The advertisement is a video attempting to market the new Audi vehicle but in the process highlights the several challenges that women face with regards to equality. The advert features a father, a daughter, and several young children engaging in a car race. It begins with a voice-over of a father asking "what do I tell my daughter?" The father continues to question himself as his daughter, and the other children engage in the race where he asks himself whether to reveal to her daughter that her grandfather is worth more than her grandmother. He also contemplates whether to let her daughter know that he (the father) is worth more than her mother. Most fundamentally, the voice questions whether the child should know that despite her education, skills, or intelligence, she will automatically be less valued than any man she would ever meet. Towards the end of the commercial, the young girl wins the race, and the voice-over is heard intimating that “or maybe I will be able to tell her something different” as she heads with her father to a new Audi (“Audi-Daughter Super Bowl 2017 Commercial”). 

The advertisement is intended for various purposes. First, it aims at marketing the new Audi as seen by the transformation the depicted from the use of old race cars to the new Audi pictured towards the end of the commercial. However, the bottom line of the advert is to emphasize the fact that women have as much power to buy quality vehicles like Audi. The video makes inferences to progress by asserting that it is meant for everyone in the society despite their gender. "Audi of America is committed to equal pay for equal work" means that the commercial not only targets potential car buyers but also raises critical feminist sentiments regarding the wage gap between men and women. The voice over featuring the father intimates that men are generally earning more than women in the American society even though they perform the same job. Therefore, the advert aims at promoting equality and emphasizing that women should not only be judged by their gender but with their level of education, skills, and intelligence. 

Problem 

The main problem highlighted in the advertisement regards the issue of gender inequality in America with regards to pay. Research has shown that the gender gap in pay continues to be a factor in the US. Corbett and Hill (2012) noted that although it has significantly narrowed since 1980, the difference has remained considerably stable in the last 15 years. Research conducted by Pew Research Center in 2017 showed that women earned approximately 82% of what men earned (England, 2017).  It, therefore, meant that on a yearly basis, women had to work for an extra 47 days to match what men earned. Another research conducted in 2016 by the Census Bureau revealed that on a full-time basis, women made about 80% of what their male counterparts received on the same job (England, 2017). In the past, the gap seen in the wages was as a result of occupational segregation, educational attainment, and work experience. The reduced gap is attributable to the gains women have made in these three areas. A majority of women in the work setting have associated discrimination as the main reason for the increased wage discrepancies in comparison to men. For instance, the 2017 Pew research showed that four in every ten women (42%) said that discrimination was the main reason for the gap (England, 2017).  

The advertisement, therefore, reveals that men are generally paid more than women when the voice over features a man questioning whether to reveal to his daughter that he is more worthy compared to the mother. The major problem with this is that whereas it remains a reality that gross disparities in pay are evident, others, especially men feel that this is only a myth. Research conducted by a firm known as Ellevest revealed that whereas 83% of women believe that pay gap is a concern, 39% of men, on the other hand, have refused to acknowledge that they are unfairly treated (Karamessini, & Rubery, 2013). In using the analogy of Audi vehicle, the advertisement goes ahead to assert that progress should be uniform across all the genders. When women are denied as decent pay as that given to women, the implication is that their purchase power is affected. As such, they cannot match up with what their male counterparts can afford. The bigger picture presented in this scenario is that a disparity in pay between men and women is likely to implicate females from enjoying a similar social and economic status. Furthermore, it seeks to emphasize that employers do not consider vital factors such as merit while analyzing the suitability of women for jobs. Therefore, as the audience views and listens to the advert, it has to note that it goes beyond the simple depiction of a classy car but also highlights the need to reward women equally in a bid to bolster their economic viability in the society. 

Critical Tool 

The most vital essential tool that could act as a remedy in solving the problem of gender inequality in pay identified in the commercial would be the feminist utopia. Cavalcanti (2013) intimated that it is a social science fiction that envisions the world as a place free from patriarchy. It pictures a society that does not tolerate gender oppression and that which does not view women and men through the lenses of traditional roles and inequality. Female utopias are critical of the current system and idealized society with contemporary values that promote the elevation of women to the highest possible ranks. The masculine systems are attributed to some of the major societal problems affecting the society today such as war. Such an ideal situation ensures that there is equality between men and women and further gives the females an inherent authority over their reproductive lives. The feminist utopias have also intimated that gender is only a factor of social construct. As such, to them, gender is not chosen and should therefore not be a determinant of roles in the society. Critics of the female utopia theories have on the other hand intimated that the values of men and women are tied to their sexes making subject to the social roles. 

The origin of utopias can be traced back to the 18 th century in England and further spread to England in the same century (Cavalcanti, 2013). Authors took the idea of utopia and embarked on creating novels emphasizing different forms of utopias including the feminist utopias. During this time, the females imagined a single-gender world where women would live free from the influence of men. They had attributed the many problems in the society to the patriarchal system that glorified masculinity and placed women on the periphery. Therefore, they envisioned an all-female society where men have either died or have naturally been replaced (Moylan, 2018).  The fictions have imagined natural factors such as diseases which have the power to kill all men and live in a society that consists of only women. However, since this is practically impossible today, female utopias today are based on the ideal and practical fight to ensure that the system of patriarchy is broken and men and women live in an equal society that is free from oppression, inequality, or any other form of disparities. According to Moylan (2018), male authors who have written utopias today have stressed on the need for equality in both sexes rather than separation as was earlier intimated by the founders of the theory. 

Feminist utopia is, therefore, a critical tool that could in analyzing the feminist advertisement regarding "Audi Super bowl Advertisement" which supports closing on the wage gap between the men and women to give the females an equal opportunity to afford quality products such as the Audi car. In using the modern perspectives of the feminist utopias, it is capable that systems can be changed to ensure that women and men are treated equally, and gender is not viewed as a variable but rather an individual's capabilities, intelligence, and education skills amongst others. Female utopias emphasize the need to glorify masculinity just for the sake of it. As such, the process of remuneration will have to be merit-based as opposed to the gender-based method that is evident in the American society today. 

Application 

The traditional accepted understanding of the “Audi-Daughter Super Bowl 2017 Commercial” is that the wage gap between men and women is an accepted fact that people should take as part of the social arrangement or structure. The man says that his father earned more than his mother and the same happens between him and his wife. It, therefore, becomes difficult to reveal to the young girl that she will not be charged by the content of her character but rather her gender. Through the feminist utopia tool that enhances equality in all respect, the audience watching this advertisement can understand the need to break from this traditional school of thought and support the equal progression of women by according them similar economic proceeds. Secondly, the forces of patriarchy are vividly identified and debunked in the commercial. 

The misunderstood forces of patriarchy that have elevated males to higher pay than men at the expense of merit are apparent in the advert. Therefore, the feminist utopia tool deconstructs a society build on the premise of sexism and the unwarranted glorification of male dominance (Price, & Shildrick, 2017). As such, as the advertisement proceeds towards the end, viewers see a man determined to tell his young daughter that she has the opportunity to be treated equally which will further empower her to attain the finances to facilitate a luxurious lifestyle as her male counterparts. As a feminist cultural critic, the cultural artifact in the form of advertisement reveals one of the most significant problems facing women regarding pay. It gives us the societal and economic implications of the ever widened gap in pay between men and women as seen by the inability of women to afford Audi in the advert. 

Conclusion 

Through the use of the critical tool in assessing the relevance of the advertisement as a cultural text, several insights are acquired. First, the advertisement illustrates that patriarchy and sexism continue to be an issue in the society today. Despite all the efforts made towards enhancing equality, the society continues to thrive under male domination where merit plays a significant role. As such, advertisers such as Audi Company have decided to use their platforms to enhance equality in pay as a method of attracting more female customers. A female utopia is a tool that can form the basis for solving the wage gap problem identified in the film. It originates from scientific fiction perception that anticipated a society consisting of females alone to ensure that issues that come with male dominance are wiped. However, since this is a distant reality, the only viable option that feminist utopia suggests today is to enhance equality by restricting the society from traditional gender roles and stereotypic thoughts. As feminist, the main lesson from the advert is that there is hope that fairness will prevail in the wake of disparities in critical economic areas such as wages. It is only through determination, widespread campaign, and belief that all shall come true. 

References 

Acker, J. (2012). Gendered organizations and intersectionality: Problems and possibilities.  Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: An International Journal ,  31 (3), 214-224. 

Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M., & Brennan, R. (2015).  Marketing: an introduction . Pearson Education. 

Audi-Daughter Super Bowl 2017 Commercial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk6VIswOCmU 

Cavalcanti, I. (2013). The writing of utopia and the feminist critical dystopia: Suzy McKee Charnas’s Holdfast Series. In  Dark Horizons  (pp. 59-80). Routledge. 

Cohen, T. (2014). Relationship Marketing.  Touro Accounting & Business Journal ,  26 . 

Corbett, C., & Hill, C. (2012).  Graduating to a Pay Gap: The Earnings of Women and Men One Year after College Graduation . American Association of University Women. 1111 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. 

England, P. (2017).  Comparable worth: Theories and evidence . Routledge. 

Karamessini, M., & Rubery, J. (Eds.). (2013).  Women and austerity: The economic crisis and the future for gender equality  (Vol. 11). Routledge. 

McCarty, J. A. (2013). Marketing and Advertising.  Global and Multinational Advertising , 23. 

Moylan, T. (2018).  Scraps of the untainted sky: Science fiction, utopia, dystopia . Routledge. 

Price, J., & Shildrick, M. (2017).  Feminist theory and the body: A reader . Routledge.