Certain commercials show only males other than females in their advertisements. Also, stereotyping is one of the prevalent aspects of advertisements. My social science question for these adverts is why are men the only subject in others are, and why are women the only subject in others? And Why are young white males stereotyped as messy and not put together? These questions are important to me as a society member since most people have a fixed perception of how particular things or people should be. For instance, there is a certain way in which a woman is perceived by society, and it is assumed that all must behave in such a specific way.
One reason why commercials use either male or female subjects in the adverts is the need to target different audiences. For instance, a commercial may opt to use a female subject when targeting male customers due to their general attractiveness. For instance, Carl's Jr.: Au Natural advert uses a female model to advertise the beef. The advert captures the target audience's attention with the subject’s natural beauty. The curvy, beautiful woman is compared to the natural bugger that is attractive and appealing to the eye. By using a female subject in this advert, it is assumed that many people will be attracted to the product being sold, especially males. According to Åkestam et al. (2017), advertisements with females' use as the main subjects are perceived to be more attractive to the audience and could lead to more sales than those using males as the main subjects. Arguably, this could be the main motive behind some commercials, specifically choosing female subjects over males.
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Also, society generally expects that women should be naturally beautiful. In fact, it sets some standards for measuring beauty. Thus some organizations, when designing advertisements, appeal to societal standards or want to meet their expectations. This influences not only the advertising but also the development of some products. For instance, Diadermic's Anti-Wrinkle Cream shows how gracefully women can age after using the anti-wrinkle cream. Women are more concerned about their appearance and will purchase products that convince them that they can improve their overall looks. Therefore, using female subjects in this advertisement is ideal and can reach many potential customers (Ustaahmetoğlu, 2020). However, this product is useful to women and men who constantly worry about their looks and want to appear nice and age gracefully. Hence, by using female subjects in the advert, it is easier to attract men with similar interests.
Stereotyping and prejudice are closely related. Most likely, the social scientists get concerned with how people are depicted in posters, how this firmly promotes their products and their effectiveness and ensuring that the adverts are persuasive and thought of. The adverts relating to my question on stereotyping are important to me as a social scientist due to the following reasons. First, they are highly stereotypical in that they convey high levels of societal expectations. For example, Garnier: Hide Yesterday presents a lady who seeks approval of her father's relationship. The lady presents her boyfriend to the father after he has used the Roll-On eye makeup, which masks the bags under his eyes. This is a way of hiding out the young man's involvements the previous night and make him look more presentable and acceptable to the father-in-law to be. In this advert, the product targets young men, who are presented as reckless and irresponsible of their actions and need a mask to hide their reality. The young white males are stereotyped as messy; hence they need the Hide yesterday makeup to put up an acceptable image to society.
Second, the adverts also catch the target audience off guard. It is least expected that a makeup advert could use men. In most cases, the female subjects are predominantly used in such advertisements. Therefore, this concept of stereotyping and prejudice is interesting to me, and I think it also concerns other social scientists. Another way in which stereotyping is evident in these advertisements is in how the products are presented. In Garnier: Hide Yesterday , the product is presented as the most exceptional brand in the market. I think exaggeration played its role in capturing the audience’s attention and tremendously glorify the product. Since it is an effective product, I think it cannot solve all the problems concerning men's looks and insecurities.
Major social science thinking development requires one to be an active thinker and remain attentive to society's challenges. Social science thinking affects both the group of social scientists and other people outside the profession. For instance, I now appreciate that racial disparities do not often subject one to an involuntary bias by studying other people. The course materials provide evidence such as understanding advertisements and their bias. Additionally, human character and performance play a significant role in comprehending adverts' impact on different groups of people. For example, people believe and act in a specific manner; hence, knowing the motives behind their behavior is paramount. It also helps one to appreciate that a person can have multiple motives aiding a certain behavior.
Although advertising is essential and helps open new markets for the products, it is paramount for the commercials to choose the advertisement media wisely. For instance, the Volkswagen TDI Clean Diesel advert employs the Uber application and social media to advertise the car. The effectiveness of this advert is due to the following. First, the social media platform appeals to a huge audience. Today's successful commercials focus on social media for making sales since most potential buyers are on one or two social media platforms (Samson, 2018). Also, the Uber application is an effective marketing strategy as many people use its services. Therefore, as a social scientist, I think that advertisement media is also critical.
References
Åkestam, N., Rosengren, S., & Dahlen, M. (2017). Advertising “like a girl”: Toward a better understanding of “femvertising” and its effects. Psychology & Marketing , 34 (8), 795–806. https://doi.org/ 10.1002/mar.21023
Samson, L. (2018). The Effectiveness of Using Sexual Appeals in Advertising. Journal of Media Psychology , 30 (4), 184–195. https://doi.org/ 10.1027/1864-1105/a000194
Ustaahmetoğlu, E. (2020). The influence of different advertisement messages and levels of religiosity on attitude and purchase intention. International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management , 13 (2), 339–356. https://doi.org/ 10.1108/imefm-02-2019-0064
