Advertising Sets a Double Standard Research Proposal

Total Length: 1097 words ( 4 double-spaced pages)

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However, it also indicates the offensive portrayal of the men, who ogle the woman, especially the overweight boss, who is totally convinced of his own sex appeal. This shows how ads use male stereotypes and misleading notions of male masculinity to appeal to men. This ad might seem that it is for women, but it is really appealing to all the men who think they are the hunk construction worker, even if they are really the overweight boss in reality. These unrealistic notions are supported by ads like these, and they help the industry create male role models that are often parodies of themselves.

Fast food ads are another notorious medium that perpetuates this skewed view of men and masculinity. Some ads portray men as hopelessly inept, especially when it comes to eating or cooking. The men in Carl's Jr. ads, for example, are pathetic and hopeless when it comes to food. In one ad, a young man places an entire avocado, unpeeled, in a blender and expects guacamole to come out. Another shows several men attempting to eat "healthy" by ordering miniscule portions, while the ad urges them to come in and eat a "man-sized" breakfast sandwich at Carl's, instead. Both of these ads portray men as pretty much idiots when it comes to food, another of Sea's jaunts into offensive portrayals of men and masculinity. Clearly, these are big, brawny men who are browbeaten by their off-screen women to eat healthy, when they would much rather go into Carl's and scarf down a huge burger and fries.

What is so interesting about these commercials is not the stereotypes and offensive portrayals of men; it is that they seem to work, and that men accept them. It seems as if men view these men as somehow removed from themselves or reality.
They can laugh at them, but they do not identify with them, instead, they identify with the manly undertones the commercials seem to contain. The men in this commercial are dunderheads, but the men watching the commercial feel superior, because they know enough to go to Carl's already, and that makes them some how removed from the poor, dumb slobs in the commercials. By using these alternative views of men, they are actually appealing to men, who always seem to be in competition with something or someone, and so, they perpetuate these alternative and offensive views of men.

The advertising world is extremely diverse, as these ads show. While some ads do appeal to a more intelligent and affluent audience, these ads are meant to appeal to the middle-class man, that "Joe six-pack" that Sarah Palin evoked in her debate speech. Talk about an offensive view of men, and you can bet, the same men that eat up these commercials ate that up, too.

References

Editors. "Bud Light X-Ray Vision." YouTube.com. 2008 3 Oct. 2008. http://www.kewego.com/video/iLyROoafY9QJ.html

Editors. "Carl's Jr." Carlsjr.com. 2008. 3 Oct. 2008. http://www.carlsjr.com/#/?video=avocado&channel=on-tv-now

Editors. "Viva Viagra." Viagra.com. 2008. 3 Oct. 2008. http://www.viagra.com/content/viva-viagra-music.jsp?setShowOn=../content/viva-viagra.jsp&setShowHighlightOn=../content/viva-viagra-music.jsp

Sea, William. "Advertising Sets a Double Standard for the Male Gender." Texas a&M University. 2005. 3 Oct. 2008. http://media.www.thebatt.com/media/storage/paper657/news/2005/11/10/Opinion/Defining.Masculinity-1052311.shtml.....

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