I was at the gym when this commercial for Stella Artois came on, and it was surprising how gendered it was. I always assumed that beer was more marketed to a male demographic but this commercial really made it hit home.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKpiYTRNsh8
So within this video, we see the woman is being compared to the Stella glass while she gets ready for an evening out, with the ending saying that they are both "things of beauty".
It was surprising that they tried to gender this in a more subtle way. Molson and Coors commercials are a bit more...blunt with their marketing, always showing men partying with attractive females who are apparently attracted to men drinking that brand of beer. This commercial was almost trying to be more classy.
This commercial reminded me of the "Male gaze" we've been talking about because the beer and the woman were both being looked at through what was supposed to be a male view. Also, at the end of the commercial they were both sort of presented to the man as the thing of beauty. The woman in the commercial as well as the beer were being "prepared" for the man.
I know that there are alcohols marketed towards females as well, but has anyone seen a commercial which is marketed for women, but with commercials done through a "female gaze"?? I couldn't think of any. Interesting anyway!
-BritFan
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Everytime I see this commercial I want to puke, it is probably one of the most womanizing commercials I have ever seen and the amazing thing about this commercial is the guy takes the beer in the end and you never see the woman again. Not only is this commercial in the male gaze but it shows men that they need not worry because if they cant get a woman they can have a beer instead and it is just as good.
ReplyDelete-princess consuela banana hammock
I just genuinely hate beer commercials. There's the Coors Light Olympic commerical (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaYqpBTR3SY) where a European woman (embodying the "swedish beauty" stereotype) turns to a man and asks, "Are you an Olympic champion?" He then turns to the camera, which is presumably male, and smiles, suggesting that he is going to exploit the woman's dumbness.
ReplyDeletethis doesn't just reinforce the idea that women are not intelligent, but that specifically foreign women are stupid. Everytime this came on I wanted to throw something.
Macho Muffin
This commercial reminded me of some of the fashion themes we discussed in class today. On first glance, one sees a woman getting ready to look good, and maybe even just for herself! This woman clearly takes pride in her looks and I don't think this is something that deserves criticism. HOWEVER...as mentioned in class today, even if a woman is dressing to feel good about herself, WHY does she feel good about herself in this certain way? Why is this woman a "thing of beauty" according to the commercial? Perhaps because she is upholding the sexualized female stereotype, perhaps because she is avoiding social penalty by conforming to the norms of beauty, perhaps because she herself has been subjected to advertisements that sell insecurity. A woman can take pride in her looks, but I never thought until now how intricately the value of those looks is connected to hegemonic structures of North American society.
ReplyDeleteTVfree.