According to Jane Marcellus, “Unoriginal ideas multiplied without thought, stereotypes limit our ability to see people, things, and ideas in nuanced ways” (“Stereotypes in Advertising” 125). For decades, America has been known as the land of opportunity, and now, more than ever, Americans live by the motto that stereotypes are meant to be broken: Women are CEOs of some of the most influential and successful companies in the world, 50-year-olds are giving birth to their first child, a black man just successfully lead our country as President of the United States for two consecutive terms, the list goes on. One place that stereotypes do not seem to have disappeared are advertisements. Advertisers utilize stereotypes because they are, “the fastest
…show more content…
The above advertisements for Dos Equis utilizes the latter. While the previous advertisement utilized text to communicate its message, the above advertisement uses visuals. We see an elderly man with the product, Dos Equis, as well as the eyes of a beautiful, seductive woman on him as well as those of a young man. The woman obviously finds the elderly man attractive while the younger man obviously looks to the elderly man as a role model. Essentially, the ad is stating, “Drink Dos Equis and this could be you.” The ad uses sex to draw attention. As Kathy Roberts Forde would say, the add follows a, “’buy this, get this’ formula. That is, if you buy our product: (1) you’ll be more sexually attractive, (2) you’ll have more or better sex, or (3) you’ll just feel sexier for your own (“Sex in Advertising 109). This, again, is not realistic. Anyone, above the age of 21, can drink a Dos Equis. A simple beer does not have the power to make you more attractive. Other than relaying a false message, the ad displays a bigger problem: it objectifies women and shows them as, “one-dimensional objects present merely to look good” (“Sex in Advertising 111) Ads such as this, “influence people’s attitudes and perceptions about women’s contributions and roles in society... Both women and men who are exposed to these decorative images place more value on women’s physical attractiveness and role as a mate, and
The above advertisements for Dos Equis utilizes the latter. While the previous advertisement utilized text to communicate its message, the above advertisement uses visuals. We see an elderly man with the product, Dos Equis, as well as the eyes of a beautiful, seductive woman on him as well as those of a young man. The woman obviously finds the elderly man attractive while the younger man obviously looks to the elderly man as a role model. Essentially, the ad is stating, “Drink Dos Equis and this could be you.” The ad uses sex to draw attention. As Kathy Roberts Forde would say, the add follows a, “’buy this, get this’ formula. That is, if you buy our product: (1) you’ll be more sexually attractive, (2) you’ll have more or better sex, or (3) you’ll just feel sexier for your own (“Sex in Advertising 109). This, again, is not realistic. Anyone, above the age of 21, can drink a Dos Equis. A simple beer does not have the power to make you more attractive. Other than relaying a false message, the ad displays a bigger problem: it objectifies women and shows them as, “one-dimensional objects present merely to look good” (“Sex in Advertising 111) Ads such as this, “influence people’s attitudes and perceptions about women’s contributions and roles in society... Both women and men who are exposed to these decorative images place more value on women’s physical attractiveness and role as a mate, and