One of the benefits of online advertising is the opportunity to promote using media. Pictures are a common use of media for advertisements. Rarely do you see an advertisement without some form of a graphic. Despite whether the consumer realizes it or not, images have a strong impact on society especially in how we view gender equality and sexuality.
These day’s most online advertisements consist of pictures with beautiful women and most these ads are catered to women. These ads hold false promises of products that will make you look more beautiful. These ads also support the delusional idea that happiness only comes from material things. Sadly, women who view these ads realize that the look they desire from the ads is unattainable and can lead to major issues. Perhaps the product did not make them as beautiful as they wanted or maybe they can’t afford the fancy product that was advertised. The beautiful women in these ads have left women feeling inadequate and have also lead to depression and eating disorders as well as many other issues.
Studies show that female buyers are aware of the way women are being depicted in advertisements. And the way these women are portrayed is affecting buyer’s decisions. But despite some of the awful issues that have happened to female buyers, advertisers are still moving forward with advertising unrealistically beautiful women. The goal of the advertisement is to make money and unfortunately this overshadows the negative effects of these ads.
What do you think? Have you ever fell for a product simply because a beautiful woman was on the advertisement? Did this persuade your decision to purchase the product?
Works Cited
Plakoyiannaki, Emmanuella, Kalliopi Mathioudaki, Pavlos Dimitratos, and Yorgos Zotos. "Images of Women in Online Advertisements of Global Products: Does Sexism Exist?." Journal of Business Ethics. 83.1 (2008): 101-112. Print. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/25482356>.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with major points you stated in your post such as advertisements primarily goal is to make money and that the negative affects of some ads are not addressed. Some forms of advertisements can lead to women having eating disorders because they want to be exactly like the women on the front of the magazine in terms of size at all costs. Just because a beautiful woman is on the front of a product doesn't at all influence my buying decisions. The quality and price of a product influences if I want to buy a product or simply leave it on the shelf.
ReplyDeleteOne thing to remember with any advertising unless you are looking at it face to face: Photoshop is an amazing thing and it can make anybody look beautiful!! I personally do not buy things because they way a person looked in the ad, however, it may be something that I would want to try and then of course when it does not work like they show there is some disappointment. I do think that some advertisements are attempting to show real images of real women. For example: I keep seeing bare minerals commercials and the women look real, their skin is not perfect but the makeup does make their skin look better. I also think that there is some truth in advertising with some of the weight loss commercials where they show someone who was 200 lbs and went to 150 lbs in 12 weeks or so and things like that, because that is actually possible, not achieving a 6 pack in 3 weeks of a workout.
ReplyDeleteI believe its easier to market to people through beautiful things realistic or not because we have as a society trained ourselves to spot the tings we desire most.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to note just how much photoshopping is done to these models and how much consumers still buy into all of this. I suppose in the consumer's mind, it doesn't matter what the product is, as long as there is something that grabs their attention. In my mind, it reveals a psychological instinct to attract to those types of things regardless of the offering and is perhaps one of the most effective strategies marketers could use as it appeals to basic instinct and desires. While perhaps very persuasive, it also seems very shallow.
ReplyDelete"Buyer beware" would be a good warning when basing your buying decisions on the images advertisers put out there. The technology that advertisers have on hand can allow them for transform any reality into whatever they want or need it to be. It can allow them to put subliminal messages into advertising in such a way that you would never have a clue that they were doing it. The next thing you know, you are craving a hamburger and have this desire to go out and buy a red sports car, and you have no idea why. I know that this practice is legal, otherwise advertisers wouldn't be doing it; but you have to ask yourself just how ethical is it?
ReplyDeletePhoto-shopping and editing have become the main way for advertisers to edit there pictures. And I agree 100% with your statement and believe its not fair towards women in any way. I'm sure I have fallen for the tricks advertisers play on us, I'm sure everyone has fallen to their tricks. I do not think its ethical and neither does Senator Kay Hagan who is working on a Bill called the Healthy Media for youth act which discusses this topic in depth. She is currently working to promote this issue and wants to send it through congress. I support her work and believe in her cause.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the photo shopping and editing is deceptive to the buyers. But I also believe at some point buyers need to be smart enough to know that pictures are photo shopped. I do not feel bad for adult buyers who fall for this, I do however have a problem when it is marketed to teens and children. Marketers need to take some responsibility for the ads they are releasing and buyers need to have some common sense.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone's point about photoshopping being a deceptive marketing practice, but if the intent of your purchase is to make yourself feel more attractive or help enhance a personal appearance, than wouldn't you rather see attractive people advertising the product? Or might the photoshopping be used to help draw your eye away from some thing that might be a distraction and better allow you to focus on what is being advertised? I think if we start trying to govern advertising we are just wasting our time. Advertising should be ethical, but once you start policing the use of airbrushing and editing in advertising, where is the line drawn?
ReplyDeleteWhile I do agree that this form of online advertising is highly deceptive, I believe that the Internet itself is allowing for a much more transparent marketplace. A simple google search for these cover models ( such as the one in the article) will usually come up with an array of pictures; many have been caught off guard by paparazzi without make up and the photos have not been touched up. The Internet allows the consumer to "shop around" for information much easier, so I believe that may discourage certain types of deceptive advertising.
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