Recently, looking threw In Style’s December issue I found an advertisement for Juicy Couture. The advertisement pictures two young teens one a boy and the other a girl. The boy, longhaired and shirtless, dressed with a long whisper pink tule skirt with Juicy Couture—JC—calf socks and Mary Jane’s. He has a leopard coat draped over his left shoulder and is carrying a JC handbag. The young girl has a 1950’s dip pity-do up do with a black power suit, patent leather arm length gloves, and ankle wrap heals. The advertisement reads “Do the Don’ts—You can always get what you want.”
The nature of the young man dressed in all female items is offensive, but then the usage of wording as “do the don’ts” and “you can always get what you want” is highly offensive to whom the magazine targets. Most women who actually read the magazine are between the ages of 20-45 and those who purchase the magazine for trends are definitively 17-25. The ad is selling Juicy Couture products on the young man’s body. We discussed how the generalization of men in the advertising industry is occurring, and this advertisement is thus a prime example. The usage of the young man as the display and bearer of all things desired exemplifies that with such materialistic possessions one can do whatever one desires. For those not oriented with the majority of JC products, they are in the Saks Fifth Avenue price range. In exchange, the advertisement is selling financial satisfaction with the product and sexual satisfaction that if money can buy one JC then money can give power and sex—such as “do the don’ts”.
The ad promotes the marginalization of men used as props or the source for women’s desired fashion luxuries. It also suggest that with material, financial, and sexual luxuries one will then always get what they have wanted. The ad promotes the sporadic use of money for sex, power and influence and the beginning of the generalization of men.
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The new Gap Christmas commercials are sending a great message about the fun and joy of Christmas instead of the commercialization of Christmas. The TV commercials are a cheerleading like forty-five second relay of the different Christmas celebrations and how the holidays bring us together. The company is promoting their plaid and various sweaters, but the company is also selling the product in a manner that appeals to a wider demographic. The print advertisement read “P-L-A-I-D what’s going under your tree? What if I go lo-tech and wrap up plaid for you? We could skip those hi-tech gifts. Plaid’s got buttons, too.” Gap is obviously selling a sweater, but a softer commercial message of enjoy the kids, parents, cousins, and family around whether it be over a sweater or the warmth a sweater brings. It’s highlighting how much attention is placed on video games and high-tech gadgets instead of the joy of Christmas that is sharing.
The commercials and paper advertisements show people jumping mid-air smiling, kids being kids, parents laughing with kids, people making human ornament formations, and the spread of holiday cheer. I do believe the ads are combating general stereotypes. They are not showcasing sexiness or dominance, but the universality of humanity and the beauty in visual diversity. I would say the advertisement remains sexually neutral in that it does not focus on aspects of femininity or masculinity. The advertisement seems to empower all-men and women. The campaign slogan for the Gap holiday advertisements is cheerfactory.com; I believe the slogan implies that Gap is attacking the stress and strain of the holidays on men and women and encouraging everyone to thinking of the holiday’s as a cheery happy season.
The new Gap holiday ads send a great positive Christmas message. The ads do not highlight the over commercialized aspect of Christmas shopping and gift-giving; however, the ads are promoting how fun Christmas can be with those one loves. The tri-fold ad in a magazine closes with “this is the way—uh huh, uh huh—we holiday” the kids are holding an ornament in a pyramid formation. It shows all of us are meant to share and enjoy the one season a year we have to wrap up and have fun with all our friends and family.
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