Culture Of Advertisement

2768 Words12 Pages
What exactly is an advertisement? By definition it is a form of communication intended to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to purchase or take some action upon products, ideas, or services. However, in today’s society advertising is much more than that. Ads are a constant source of images in which hidden and underlying messages reinforce the stereotypes we have all come to view as the social “norm”. Essentially, ads are not merely just a form of communication intended to persuade an audience to purchase a product, ads are a form of communication in which everyone is persuaded what to view as normal. Going off of this concept, according to the culture of advertising, what is now viewed as “normal” are ninety-pound white women with faces and bodies that are flawless. It has been these ads that define what society views as beautiful. It has been because of these ads that women all over the world constantly feel insecure about themselves not fitting into a certain image; an image which the culture of advertising has defined. However, in regards to advertising, it is easy to look at an ad and just see the aspects of sexism, but layered on top of this are issues of race, class, and sexuality. For the longest time trends in ads have changed society’s views and perspectives on what is considered beautiful, but in the present, every single ad sends out multiple subliminal messages to the public. In advertisements found in Maxim, Glamour, and Cosmopolitan magazines, it can be clearly seen how the culture of advertisement not only shapes society’s views in terms of gender, but also in regards to race, class, and sexuality. In Maxim magazine there is an ad that fits one of the most common themes found in advertising: the dehumanization of women and how they are viewed as sex objects. However, buried much deeper within the ad, are issues of race
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