Killing Us Softly In Advertisement

While first watching Killing Us Softly 4, created by Jean Kilbourne, a documentary discussing the different themes of advertisement seen by the new millenniums that sexualize women and less of men, I was shocked.  My eyes were immediately opened in surprise that I was not aware of the extent of which advertisement agencies go to reach peoples attention.  The intended meaning may be for the product, such as shampoo, but the deeper meaning that arouses the emotions from people is that the product for shampoo is sexualizing a woman who may be unclothed and words that say “even the cleanest need to get dirty sometimes…” or something in that regard.  By having her presented unclothed and having that slogan to go with the product, your attention does not go to the product; it goes to the woman and the slogan, dehumanizing the woman herself.  It sends a message to the audience, mainly women, that they should emulate the women they see in ads.

Killing Us Softly 4

Kilbourne makes it a point to tell her audience that no woman, not even the women featured in the ads, look flawless and have no pores.  It is quite impossible to embody someone of that nature that is “perfect” when in fact no one is perfect.  She discusses the Dove campaign that went viral where it demonstrated a woman being photographed and at the same time, being photo shopped to not look like her.  Some celebrities have taken a stand to tell people that some of the images seen in magazines of themselves are not real.  Kilbourne even mentions one ad that Oprah Winfrey was featured in and without Winfrey’s consent; they used her head on a figure skaters body for a magazine cover.  All of which to portray an unrealistic image to their target audience, which was women.  Kilbourne also goes into the psychological issues that women and some men face, but mainly women.  She mentions that models were getting so skinny that eating disorders began to be the main focus of which people focused on rather then the clothing the model is wearing.  Some designers have taken a stand, just like celebrities have, and are not discriminating against models who represent the “real” and “average” woman, which should be the main target audience the designers are focusing on.  Throughout the documentary, Kilbourne focuses on main points that should be addressed more on, especially for high school girls and boys in their health classes to fully understand that the advertisement world is throwing unrealistic and inappropriate ideas to the younger demographic that they should not embody the ads themselves and should focus on themselves individually as real humans.        

Delving Into Art & Copy

The film, Art &Copy, directed by Doug Pray, is not just a film about advertisement for digital and print, but it is a film that explores the many sides of advertisement.  Much of the material that was introduced into the film allowed insight for viewers who on an everyday bases just blink at advertisement and not study the artistry behind it.  In fact, as a viewer myself, I would just blink and not think twice about the meaning nor the artistry of the ad that tells a story to its’ viewers.

What I found so interesting was Apple and their approach to digital and print advertisement.  Specifically in 1984 for the Super Bowl commercial that did not show the product, but presented a more abstract approach to what Apple, specifically Macintosh was.  It starts off with an army of people marching in to then sit down and listen to a large monitor of a man with sunglasses on telling them what to do and what was going to happen.  Symbolically it presented itself as a cult of people, and then a rebel came running in, slinging an iron mallet to the screen and breaking it.  Chiat/Day Agency created this ad, and quiet honestly they presented, in a sense, what we see Apple to be today.  In a society consumed of technology, nine times out of ten you will find that the person beside you has an Apple iPhone, an iPod, an iPad, or even a MacBook.  We have become the “cult” that was featured in the 1984 Super Bowl commercial and Apple is the leader. 

 

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From that moment in 1984, Apple and Macintosh have never been the same.  It changed the dynamic of advertisement and has helped raise the competition between products and how products are advertised.  Many times now, advertisement is presented to us at an emotional level, pulling at our heartstrings.  Some advertisement agencies do not even focus on the product until highlighting it at the end, leaving viewers to interpret the commercial the way they see fit.  It is ingenious idea and now since watching Art & Copy, advertisement is not just an element in the marketing field, it is art in the form of theatrics, presenting a story to us to help grab our attention to then buy and partake in the ad itself.    

What Persuaded Me In “The Persuaders”

     The Frontline documentary, “The Persuaders” discusses many different topics that all revolve around the advertisement world.  What makes this documentary so fascinating is that it opens your eyes to what we thought was just your everyday thing, that is, seeing billboards and advertisement around us without really thinking about it.  Something that immediately jumped out to me was the mere fact that advertisement agencies work closely with television and movie production companies to strategically place ads throughout their television or movie programs.  My mind was immediately blown, so to speak, because I began to have flashbacks of my favorite television shows that strategically place Starbucks in the setting or even Nike.    While watching “The Persuaders”, host, Douglas Rushkoff, discussed that advertisement agencies look at television pilots to help incorporate product advertisement.  To the average television consumer, they would not think anything of product placement, especially advertisement agencies and television agencies working together.  The average consumer would just think it was coincidental.  At least, I was one of those television consumers that thought it was coincidental.  However, throughout the documentary, they mention that if you can tell it is an ad, it didn’t work.

     In an instant, a light bulb goes off and you realize that in fact, we are persuaded and consumed with product placement and the advertisement agencies are the persuaders.  It becomes a life style and with life styles, there is a sense of comfort and we become loyal in a sense with that form of living.  Kevin Roberts created a formula that explains the loyalty we as humans have with different brands.  Brands that offer experience and a form of mystery within the ads, creates loyalty with the audience it is geared to.  We immediately have that emotional connection.  This is much like the example that “The Persuaders” shares with us, Song Airlines, because they express that it is not just an airline, it is a lifestyle.  We do not realize that advertisement does not just display the product through text; it expresses the product as a lifestyle because the company wants you to be apart of the product.  Once again, another mind blowing experience that I, along with my classmates, had because it’s true!  It is absolutely true, and we do not realize it until we have an eye opening experience, such as watching this documentary, that we in fact live in a world of advertisement that enters our life and we become persuaded to not only buy the product, but live within the product.