Gender stereotypes.

Advertising today is not the same as it used to be. Gender stereotyping was quite obvious in ads of the past. Nowadays, it it still being used but somewhat subtle. It's not often that I come across an ad and it is completely stereotyping like the example shown in class. For example, this was one of the ads shown in class;

This is a vintage ad that is very demeaning towards women. It shows that the woman is treated like a child and also advocates domestic abuse. 

Now this ad below is quite a recent ad, I would say. It is one of those ads that would raise quite a lot of controversy. I know I said a lot of the ads show stereotypes in the more subtle way but this is one of the examples that is similar to the ads of the past. All the men are standing around her while a shirtless man is holding her down. This is showing men as the power figure and women as weak and helpless people. This is also trying to portray the woman as an object for men to take advantage of. 

Now this ad below kind of challenges the subduing stereotype in women.  Unlike some of the ads shown in class, the women is shown as being higher than the man. The man also has his eyes closed. To me it's saying, if the woman wears this perfume, she will have men praising her. In this ad, the man is the one caressing her instead of the woman caressing him. It's not as stereotypical as the other ads.

I definitely do not think it is okay to laugh at these stereotypes. Hiding behind the irony is just encouraging this behavior and that isn't okay. As long as we encourage this behavior, it will continue to exist and that is stepping away from what we all yearn for: equality.

Stereotyping Workshop: Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging

I have watched this movie over ten times and I am in love with it! It is a movie about a girl and the problems she faces as a teenager dealing with boys ("sex gods"), friendships, family issues, and classmates. This movie is quite gender diverse but not really racially diverse. Most of the characters in this movie are Euro-Anglo. The only character that is more noticed and is a different face is one of the the main character's friend and a part of her posse; she is middle eastern. I am not sure why this is. It might be because this is a British film and Britain's population is not as ethnically diverse as the United States.

I believe that ethnic diversity and gender diversity is very important in the media because this makes people feel included. If a child was watching a movie and notices why he/she does not look like any of the people featured in the movie, he/she might question how our society is like. It also familiarizes people with different races. People like the media to portray average looking people.  

There isn't any racial stereotyping in this movie because it is not a racially diverse movie. There is a scene in this movie where the girls are anonymously rating each other on their looks and they kind of pick on the little middle eastern girl. I might be looking in to it too much though. Anyway, there are some gender stereotypes in this movie. For example, the main character is competing against a girl named Lindsay for a boy they consider a "sex god". Lindsay is tall, skinny, and pretty. The main character, Georgia, loses confidence in her self in getting her "sex god" because she says she isn't pretty and skinny like Lindsay. It makes it seem like that is the definition of a pretty girl. It is kind of how the media portrays beauty in women.  Another example of this stereotype happens in the beginning of the movie where Georgia attends a costume party. She comes in dressed as a stuffed olive hoping to see her friends dressed as hors d'oevres but they are all dressed in cute/sexy-like costumes. Georgia asks why her friends didn't go through with the plan and her best friend says, "but boys don't like girls for funniness..." The media tries to show that image is everything. Girls have to dress sexy for guys to be interested. Basically, the stereotype is of how a beautiful woman should look and dress. In the end, the movie does express that being yourself is better than trying to be something you are not.

Overall, stereotyping is still a huge problem in our society today. The media should use its powers to help break these stereotypes and show us a new point of view.

Racial Stereotyping

I don't think it is right to racial stereotype in the use of advertisements. It just keeps the belief of these stereotypes alive in our society and that is not fair. For example, I have never really seen an asian peson in an ad before. Even when there is an asian person in an ad or commercial, they are shown to be the "typical asian" that people think of. Asian people depicted in commercials (even movies and shows) almost always have a strong accent and have extremely slanted eyes. Advertisements reach a large amount of the public and I think advertisement agencies should use their power to help people break away from these steretypical ideas about different races.

Racism is not a thing of the past and still exists in advertisements. For example, I looked up basketball ads and all that popped up were African American men holding basketballs. It is rare to see an ad for a brand with basketball gear with any other race.

Another example of a racial stereotypical ad is the one below. The ad reads " Improve Your English." Just be looking at this ad, I can tell that it is geared more toward immigrants in the U. S. It is very stereotypical of this ad to put a picture of a middle eastern woman in a shawl with a bindi on her forehead.



This one is very stereotypical too! Below is an ad for night bowling. I find it very racist and unappealing. I could tell that the people who made this ad "tried" not to be racist by painting a caucasian girl black (hence, the blue eyes). But this ad still comes across as racist.


I find that advertisers have an ethical responsiblity to help spread the word and teach people how not to be racial stereotypical. It was a huge problem in the past and still is in the present.

Signs and Semiotics

During the last class, we learned about sign/signifier/signified and semiotics. One rule for a sign is that a sign does not mean anything unless we assign a meaning to it. For example, everyone--most people-- stop a light when it turns red and goes when it turns green. It is because we have assigned that meaning to those lights, otherwise, green and red would just be colorful lights. The "signifier" would be the light turning green and the "signified" would be that the green light means go.

Semiotics it what people use to evaluate an advertisement. It helps people understand the ad better. My first example is this commercial for the California Lottery.

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This commercial denotes a lady named "Lady Luck". It shows her walking past a few people and good things happen. When she walked by the lady reading a book in the dark, the lights started working and turned on. When she walked by the guy who threw a gutter ball, the ball came out of the gutter and knocked down all the pins. Then at the end, she slapped the guy who was scratching a California black scratcher and he won big money. What the ad is connoting is that if a person buys a California black scratcher, "lady luck" will come their way. When I say lady luck, I am metaphorically speaking.



This billboard, as you can tell, is for Pepsi.It denotes people smiling and doing things with other people like sing karaoke and skateboard. These people look like they are having a good time. It connotes the feeling of happiness and spontaneity. The billboard reads "live for now" meaning live in the moment. Pepsi is basically saying "carpe diem", life is too short, so live in the moment with Pepsi.

This is an ad for women who drink alcohol. The picture denotes a wrinkly faced lady. Her make up and hair is messy. What is connotes is that if a women decides to drink as much alcohol as a man, her features may change, making her look like a man (meaning ugly). This ad is kind of disturbing to me because it makes it seem like women are not allowed to do what men do. I honestly do not believe if a woman "drinks as much as a man", she will start having manly features. I'm sure premature aging will occur, as in men too. Below is a list of problems a woman can develop from drinking alcohol, but men can develop health problems as well. This ad seems kind of biased to me.

What Makes a Brand?

Some people may think a logo is a brand when in fact a logo is just a small part to help identify a product. A brand is everything else that makes the product desirable. The brand sells an experience which is desirable to consumers. A brand is the "something else that comes with it". For example, Harley Davidson not only sells motorcyles, but the freedom and lifestyle that comes with it. A brand plays a large factor in making a consumer feel the need to support the certain product that is within the brand. Branding matters because it helps make the product unique. It is what makes a consumer choose one over the other (of the same product). For example, say a person goes to a store to purchase ranch. People will most likely choose Hidden Valley Ranch over an off-brand like Safeway. It is because Hidden Valley has made a name for themselves, a brand that makes them unique from other companies that sell ranch.

All great brands:

• In it for the long haul
• Can be anything
• Knows itself well
• Invents or reinvents an entire category
• Taps into emotions
• Has a story that is never completely told
• Is consistent in its design
• Is relevant

If a company can make their brand unique to themselves, that is what great branding is. For example, every time I go shopping, I will only go to certain places to get my clothes. It is because they way they brand their merchandise, it makes me, as a consumer, believe that those clothes are what I should be wearing. Those are the clothes that fit my style and set me apart from others. It is branding like this that makes people choose spending a little extra money at one particular place rather than another place that has the same item for a cheaper price.