Advertising
The question I am addressing is whether or not some forms of advertisement are acceptable.
We are working on our Written Tasks in English and I found myself wondering about the advertisements as a whole. For instance, is the second ad (World Wildlife Fund) acceptable? What about the third (Budweiser) ad?
I personally feel that the second ad is not acceptable. It portrays this woman as an animal, and reinforces the stereotype that people of color are more "exotic" than whites. However, I feel that the third ad is acceptable. The woman is objectified, but isn't portrayed in an extremely negative way.
I guess I just feel this way because advertising has to use some sort of technique to sell the product. In the third ad's case, it was sex appeal. That to me is a totally acceptable way of selling something, but when you reinforce a stereotype like the second ad did, that isn't acceptable.
I expect somebody will disagree. I'd love to hear your opinion :)
Christian
I do disagree! In the Budweiser Girl ad, photoshop and careful model selection portrays an ideal body/ girl that is hardly physically possible. It also shows her with her legs wide, offering herself to the audience. Doesn't this set a distorted idea of beauty, and set a bad example for girls? If we could assume that photoshop wasn't used (which I'm assuming it was, but for this point), then perhaps it wouldn't be immoral per se, but I'd still see it as morally degrading.
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