The ads seen above are just two from Diesel's current campaign called "Be Stupid". They are found both online and in certain magazines.
What appeals to me?:
These ads appeal to me negatively because they are exploiting women as sexual objects, and the company is making no effort at all to hide that intention. The name of the campaign, "Be Stupid" and the women in these pictures are being portrayed as sexually promiscuous and dumb. These ads are not concerned with showing anything personal about them or listening to anything they have to say, because they are no longer thoughtful women. This ad takes that away from them. These women now are objects and objects don't have thoughts or feelings.
What mood or tone does it set with its images?
The tone of the ads are meant to be fun and uninhibited. I understand that. However, it does not take away from the fact that they are being reckless. This is telling any young girl that in order to be perceived as "fun" you have to take off your clothes and loose any sense of self preservation.
What are the explicit/ implicit meanings of the slogan or text?
Explicit meaning- Don't think. Don't use your brain because then you will miss out of the fun of life. In these cases what is "fun" is being an exhibitionist, and if you stop to think about what you are doing for too long you will realize it is a bad idea and not do it.
Implicit meaning- Being cool means being dumb. If you want to be sexy and popular and desired then you should be as vapid as possible. Don't think and if you do keep it to yourself. If you are a young women and impressionable then the underlying meaning of this campaign is telling you that the only way you are worth anything is if you are throwing your inhibitions to the wind and doing what looks like fun regardless of the consequences.
What is the ad trying to sell?
The ad is selling clothing. Diesel is a men and women's clothing company aimed at young people. In the top ad it appears they are specifically showing a bathing suit and in the bottom ad I am unsure if they are selling the jeans, the shoes, or both.
What does the ad assume?
This ad assumes that the audience will enjoy the images and laugh at them, which you almost have to do if you are a free thinking and intelligent person. I know I laughed when I first saw these advertisements, but not for the reasons that they want you to laugh. I did not laugh because I thought the ads were particularly clever or because they were legitimately funny. I laughed because I could not believe the gall of this company to put out such an overtly offensive ad. I should not have been surprised though from the company that only a couple of seasons ago brought the world the "Sex Sells" ad campaign. Compared to that gem the "Be Stupid" campaign sounds like Rhodes Scholars came up with it.
These ads are outright offensive. They are degrading towards women and should be boycotted. Any young women who sees these ads in a magazine will see that in the eyes of this company women are mindless and sexually impulsive vessels, and that is not true. "The aim is to promote insecurity, self hatred, and distorted perceptions of size, appetite, and attractiveness so that we will consume the countless products, diet plans, and cosmetic surgeries marketed to remedy our alleged deficiencies"(Kirk/ Okazawa-Rey, 208). Women are all beautiful, thoughtful, and have great amounts of potential, but this collection of ads in Diesel's "Be Stupid" campaign does not touch on any of those things. These ads feature images of models that provide unrealistic body image expectations for girls. In the article Women's Bodies, Women's Health there is an entire section dedicated to these issues and it states "advertising images can severely undermine girls' self-confidence and sense of agency" (Kirk/ Okazawa-Rey, 208).
Work Cited
1.) Gwyn Kirk & Margo Okazawa-Rey, "Women's Bodies, Women's Health," in Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspective (New York: McGraw- Hill, 2010), 208.
As I clicked through the different ads chosen by our classmates, this one struck me as one of the most disturbing. It doesn't surprise me on bit, however, that this was a Diesel ad. As you mentioned in your analysis, the company is notorious for launching disgusting ad campaigns that exemplify misogyny in advertising. Not only are women objectified in these ads, but they are explicitly and intentionally portrayed as stupid, which is somehow supposed to be a positive trait. I do find it ironic and humorous that the ads state, "stupid has the balls." One could choose to read this ad logically, which might suggest that if you have balls, then you must be stupid...
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your analysis and call to action, and as such I choose to not be stupid and will intentionally boycott this company/brand.