Over the years, advertising agencies have had their fair share of controversy and lawsuits. One of the most controversial advertisements of last decade is the Dolce and Gabbana 2007 ad which appeared on Esquire magazine. This advertisement stirred many debates all over the world questioning the moral and ethical standards of advertisements. This paper attempts to address the consequences involved in using black humour such as sex, rape and suicide.
Advertising agencies have used sex or sexuality as a tool to attract audience’s attention. In this particular ad, the use of sexuality was very political. Many nations, particularly, Spain and Italy ones, viewed this ad as a form of women oppression and ordered the ad to be withdrawn under the …show more content…
The visual message conveyed by this ad was interpreted as gang rape. The ad shows a woman held to the ground by a half-naked male while being surrounded and watched by several other males. In addition to the models’ costumes, their postures further added onto the idea of violence. The models were positioned in a certain manner. The female model was lifted her pelvic area upwards and towards the male model that is holding her to the ground. In the image, while the male model is holding onto her hand forcefully, she does not seem to care much about it. Her face is tilted to an angle on the side and her eyes are looking down. Furthermore, the name of the brand, Dolce & Gabbana appears in bold white print in the part of the ad that is seen to be …show more content…
The model is found to be extremely attractive and irresistible in addition to her natural beauty, which, in turn, provokes the men surrounding her. One of the founders of this brand, Stefano Gabbana stated their intention was to “re-create a game of seduction […] and not cause controversy, offend or promote violence” (Colavita, Courtney, and Contribution By Barbara, 2007). This ad plays on the same dynamic on which a male model using a certain product might be able to attract all the ladies in his surroundings for sexual reasons. But in the case, switching gender roles for a similar kind of ad was not the best idea. The woman in the ad is very good-looking and appealing and she is wearing the brand’s clothes. Unfortunately, the meaning cane be interpreted in two different ways, one in which the girl looks attractive and sexy by wearing that brand and the other one is about the dangers accompanied by the same attractive and sexy look. It raises the question of whether wearing this brand will put a female in a position of getting
Advertising agencies have used sex or sexuality as a tool to attract audience’s attention. In this particular ad, the use of sexuality was very political. Many nations, particularly, Spain and Italy ones, viewed this ad as a form of women oppression and ordered the ad to be withdrawn under the …show more content…
The visual message conveyed by this ad was interpreted as gang rape. The ad shows a woman held to the ground by a half-naked male while being surrounded and watched by several other males. In addition to the models’ costumes, their postures further added onto the idea of violence. The models were positioned in a certain manner. The female model was lifted her pelvic area upwards and towards the male model that is holding her to the ground. In the image, while the male model is holding onto her hand forcefully, she does not seem to care much about it. Her face is tilted to an angle on the side and her eyes are looking down. Furthermore, the name of the brand, Dolce & Gabbana appears in bold white print in the part of the ad that is seen to be …show more content…
The model is found to be extremely attractive and irresistible in addition to her natural beauty, which, in turn, provokes the men surrounding her. One of the founders of this brand, Stefano Gabbana stated their intention was to “re-create a game of seduction […] and not cause controversy, offend or promote violence” (Colavita, Courtney, and Contribution By Barbara, 2007). This ad plays on the same dynamic on which a male model using a certain product might be able to attract all the ladies in his surroundings for sexual reasons. But in the case, switching gender roles for a similar kind of ad was not the best idea. The woman in the ad is very good-looking and appealing and she is wearing the brand’s clothes. Unfortunately, the meaning cane be interpreted in two different ways, one in which the girl looks attractive and sexy by wearing that brand and the other one is about the dangers accompanied by the same attractive and sexy look. It raises the question of whether wearing this brand will put a female in a position of getting