This ad clearly entails the ideology that we are living in a male centric society. The angle at which the male is placed in the advertisement is crucial to decoding the meaning. It can be inferred that since the man is in a tailored suit he is of upper class. His authoritative role is further emphasized since he is towering directly over the woman with the bodacious physique. Since the male’s face is not showcased to consumers, it provides an “it could be you” fantasy to male consumers. If the man’s face had been shown, then his race or ethnicity would become valuable to the decoding the meaning of the advertisement. I also firmly believe that the man’s face was not shown because men from all walks of life have the ability to control a woman. SKYY Vodka doesn’t just want to target one particular audience or race for this matter because it wants to create a sense of commonality between the man in the illustration and the average Joe or upper class man.
In addition, the woman’s flawless physique provokes to-be-looked-at-ness. The Caucasian female is the desire rather than the beverage. The viewer is automatically drawn to the woman’s cleavage; it is the main attraction in the SKYY Vodka advertisement. The advertisement uses the ideal of a perfect female body that many women strive for. This body involves the ideal of a flat stomach and is perfectly proportioned with an extremely large bust. The woman’s muscular shoulders suggest that she occupies her time with exercising and maintaining her appearance. This “perfect body” operates as a metaphor for culture. For example, it is of no surprise that a Caucasian female with straight blonde hair and a flawless tan is the symbol of beauty. Especially in contemporary society because people pay to look a couple shades darker; natural pasty skin, which was once of great significance during the Jim Crow era is no longer, considered to be beautiful.
If photography were used to capture this exact moment instead of an illustration, it would evoke different reactions from the general public. For example, it might be taken more seriously because some could find it be rather offensive. Although one could still question the company’s motive, the illustration makes it a light topic or entertaining to some rather than problematic. Therefore, the art medium becomes significant because it has the power to alter the meaning of the advertisement.
This advertisement serves as a perfect example of sexual objectification, clearly objectifying the woman and making it appear that she has little agency over the male gaze or even the man within the picture. As the man stands above her, the woman is shown having little power, as she is caught lying between his legs below him. In addition to being powerless, her breasts are very clearly the center point of this picture, becoming more important than the people or even the product within the advertisement. The male gaze can easily fetishize over her breasts, making them their own important entity rather than viewing them as part of a more important whole (in this case, the female body).
ReplyDeleteIn addition to making the woman a powerless, sexual object, this advertisement focuses on phallocentrism by giving the man dominating power within the picture. By standing over the woman, he claims his dominance and thus does not allow her to "threaten his manhood", as Mulvey would write.
I find it interesting that advertisements can still be as sexist as this, and I am surprised that I had not seen this advertisement before reading the blog. This advertisement showcases everything sexual and stereotypical that an ad could possibly show, once again reinforcing the fact that no matter how far society has come in terms of gender-respect, society will always fall back to basic stereotypes to sell products and make money.