In the age of popular food advertisements through the televisions and social media, sexual objectification of women has become too common. Carl’s Junior’s Burger advertisement of food shows where a female celebrity model struts at the market place while eating a burger. The company has popularized their products through ratifying sexual satisfaction. Women in the commercials are in underpants and behave suggestively while eating their burgers. At the same time, men in the background watching in awe and lust ( Poon, 2018). Therefore, using celebrities attracts people to consume their products with the main aim of making a profit . In their sense, eating their burger brings satisfaction as it is when fulfilling sexual desires.
As misrepresentations of gender perceptions continue to persist, firms are not holding back as they stand to gain profit from it. In most instances, business owners benefit from deliberately displaying negative images of women and men. Women will be used as sexual products while men will be portrayed as having authority and power through their show of masculinity further promoting gender stereotyping ( Poon, 2018) . The threat of losing their reputation is high as the advertising business has failed to be authentic in embracing diversity and equality.
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Theoretical Applications
While manifest and latent functions serve to achieve beneficial functions, they are easily distinguishable from each other. Manifest functions are conscious and deliberate when communicating their intended purpose. On the other hand, latent functions are unintended and unconsciously brought from a situation with a different purpose ( Stinchcombe, 2017). For instance, the manifest function of going to school is to get educated. However, latent functions may eventually be illustrated by making friends and increased socialization and networking which was not the original purpose of learning.
In this case, Carl’s Jr burger advertisement has a manifest function of displaying satisfaction when consuming the product. The audience will also enjoy eating the burger with the perception of consuming something of value due to the presence of celebrities. On the other hand, the commercial’s latent function is the idea of feeling good and sexy even when eating the product that is often recognized as junk ( Poon, 2018) . Many Americans are adopting a healthy lifestyle by consuming fresh and organic foods. Eating junk or fast foods is, therefore, associated with negative body image such as being overweight due to the products’ high cholesterol levels. The idea of having a beautiful female celebrity with a perfect body defies the popular notion that having fast foods will make one gain weight and look unsuitable for suitors.
From a different perspective, manifest and latent concepts may have dysfunctions. While functions appear beneficial, dysfunctions are negative to society but not necessarily harmful ( Grabowska & Engbersen, 2016). In this regard, Carl’s Jr Burger commercial has a latent dysfunction where negative gender stereotyping is displayed. Men are displayed as being lustful creatures while women are objectified as being sexual things. The advertisement unintentionally popularizes women as lacking intelligence and professionalism. The concept of sexual objectification, in turn, becomes overwhelming and corrupt while promoting immorality, particularly among young people. On the other hand, its manifest dysfunction would be seen by its deliberate acts of promoting discrimination against people who would not be recognized as been suitable or sexy. The idea of promoting their product would be best illustrated by having diverse people from different origins, gender, and profession enjoying the burger ( Poon, 2018) . This would instead promote diversity and equality while dispelling any type of stereotyping that would be misconceived from the commercial.
References
Grabowska, I., & Engbersen, G. (2016). Social remittances and the impact of temporary migration on an EU sending country: The case of Poland. Central and Eastern European Migration Review , 5 (2), 99-117.
Poon, S. T. (2018). The Function of Sexual Imagery and Visual Seduction in Food Advertising. IJASSH .
Stinchcombe, A. L. (2017). Merton’s theory of social structure. In The idea of social structure (pp. 11-33). Routledge.
