And now for your Friday fun: something I’ve wanted to post for a long time but honestly couldn’t find a good reason to do so. But heck, since we’ve been talking a lot about ads we don’t like this week, (along with ads we’re not sure about,) I thought I’d throw something out there that just brings me total joy.
Because there always seems to be a constant sexualization of female athletes and ads that focus on their “hotness” rather than their skill (why tennis players have to pose in bikinis is beyond me,) I love this Canon Power Shot ad that exploits “cuteness” for profit, rather than Maria Sharapova’s body. Guess what? I want to buy this product, and I never even had to see Sharapova sexed-up.
“Yes, yes, I see you tennis champion…”
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eight comments
Yes, an ad that features a woman, but not in a sexualized or demeaning way, might have a chance of selling products to women. I don't watch much TV, but when I do I'm amazed at how few ads seem to be geared towards women.
Posted by la pobre habladora
November 30, 2007, 4:48 PM
This ad always makes me laugh. You know how all those phone companies use cute ickle animals in their ads to sell us products, and we're totally not taken in by it, because just because they have duckies, bunnies and puppies in their ads, doesn't change the fact that they're evil? Except that I am totally taken in. Damn you, dog talking in a posh accent!
Posted by Thea
November 30, 2007, 5:30 PM
I actually think there is a negative message here. The dog comes across as her sterriotyped "spanish lover" type. It's still all about her sexual/romantic relationships rather than who she is overall. When I saw this ad I had no idea she was a tennis player. Case and point. I just thought "dog acts like pimp of playful blond." it's not the worst I've seen, but what else is new.
Posted by Myra
December 1, 2007, 2:33 PM
That's an interesting point Myra, because I also didn't know she was a tennis player until Stacey May mentioned it. But I figured that was more because I just didn't recognise her, because I don't watch much tennis.
It does make me uncomfortable when "foreign accents" are used to make something funny. Most of all it probably makes me uncomfortable because I do laugh, often in spite of myself, as long as the accents are Western European - but I'm still laughing because the joke is that non-Anglo people are funny. I shouldn't be laughing at that - damn internalised xenophobia!
Posted by Thea
December 1, 2007, 3:10 PM
I recognized Sharapova, but I also saw the ad in a more negative light. I thought it portrayed her as a bit of a dip, a bit obsessive over the cuteness of her dog.
Posted by Catherine
December 2, 2007, 10:48 PM
Um, I'm a bit obsessive over the cuteness of my dog...
Posted by Stacey May
December 3, 2007, 12:27 AM
And check out this one!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yXakX...
Here the selling point is power, rather than cuteness.
Posted by Benjamin Rosenbaum
December 13, 2007, 2:05 PM
Actually Benjamin, I like that commercial far less. You'll have to work to convince me that any woman can make a truely powerful statement in a pink miniskirt, but maybe that's a bit vague. What's more obviously sexually charged is the way she takes the camera from her thigh private agent style. Still, it's true - at least she's playing tennis.
Posted by Myra
December 15, 2007, 3:51 PM
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