Mid-Term Project

Abstract

The tobacco industry is constantly advertising to appeal towards young adults. They seek lifetime consumers and since their products are causing shorter lives they need to replace them. Although people are more knowledgeable about the affects of smoking cigarettes people still fall into the words and imagery of their advertisements. Social constructions such as beauty and power and the issue of sexism are all evident in their advertisements. People may not realize the underlying messages of these ads, and they overlook the severity of these false perceptions, but this is an important issue that should be addressed because everyday someone is convinced these ideals of a man or woman are true and a lot of the time it is unconsciously.

All the women in these ads are ‘fit,’ skinny, the commercial idea of beauty with make-up and styled hair. All the men in these ads have power and control; the respect of the ‘tough guise.’ The positions of woman and man are complete opposites in these young adult dream worlds. While men usually have the upper hand, women sex icons. Tobacco companies play into weaknesses of society and hope to continue the cycle of consumers.

Pictures

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The Tipalet cigarette ad suggests that women are mindless, easily manipulated, and sexually driven. The statement ‘Blow in her face and she’ll follow you anywhere.’ is an illusion of power that men have over women if they buy these products. It expresses how men can belittle women and still have their way. The act of blowing smoke into a woman’s face, or to anyone’s face for that matter is rude, and when someone becomes submissive to that like the woman in the ad, it becomes a symbolism for inferiority and superiority. The phrase also implies that women will need/want a man if he smokes these cigarettes and thus making the consumer want to buy their product for pleasure, for an intimate relationship, for sexually driven women. Sexism is one of the biggest influences in this ad. The woman in the ad is captivated by the man and shows a sense of sex appeal because of her low shirt and engaging posture, while the man watches as he gains this control with his smoke. The man holds the ‘tough guise,’ the macho man, the bad boy smoking the cigarette; the man everyone should respect or fear. The statement in the orange box starts of with ‘Hit her with tangy Tipalet Cherry.’ This once again suggests power, along with violence against women.

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The Camel cigarette ad offers the different blends that can satisfy your kind of ‘pleasure,’ and by pleasure they mean attracting the opposite sex. In this imaginary world women use their bodies to seduce men. While the man once again sits back, the woman throws herself at him. Through her body language viewers get the idea that women are lustful, needy. Men may want to buy this product because they want to have a bigger chance of attracting women, maybe to have something in common with the imaginary woman in the ad, the woman that is supposedly somewhere, out there, in the real world.

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The Kool cigarette ads (above) target men who want control, power, and the ability to ‘entice’ and ‘enchant’ the women in these ads. The women are advertised as sexual commodities that come along with the purchase of a box of cigarettes, similar to that of the Tipalet ads. In the second grouping of Kool ads (below), this is also evident. Although all the women are already with someone, their attention is quickly drawn to the man smoking Kool cigarettes. This labels women as easily manipulated and promiscuous.

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This brand of cigarettes mainly targets the female consumer. The brand itself is “appealing”. When the word slim comes to mind, women think of “ideal” beauty; models, a skinny waist, fitness, etc. As for the ad concept, the company is giving women a reason to buy their product. They are saying women deserve it, and they are reassuring women and empowering them to believe it is ok to consume them. The images in the background could be implying how hard-working women are and how far they have come to accomplish equality between men and women. The model in the ad suggests what men want. In a sense this aspect of the ad targets men. Women believe this is what men want and fall into the social construction of patriarchy.

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I don’t think this is a real ad but the message on it expresses the myth of cigarettes, a hunger suppressor. The social construct of commercial beauty leads women to think they are not good enough; not skinny enough for the male sex. It reveals how women go against other women in this race for “beauty,” confidence, a companion. It is sad to see that some women have this mind set. So many factors are against us as women and instead of attacking each other; instead of creating a division amongst women, we need to be there for each other and learn from each other to rise up and accomplish a more equal society.