"Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy sh** we don't need." - Brad Pitt 'Fight Club 1999.' Brad, or Tyler Durden for my film enthusiasts, was onto something here. Advertising has us chasing cars, clothes, and even a lifestyle - agreed. We as consumers buy a lot of sh** we don't need - again, agreed. We work jobs we hate - that one's probably on us but that's not the point. Bottom line is that advertising gives us the opportunity to buy things we need and see things we want, however, I want to stress a totally different point.
Now that I have your attention, lets break down this ad. Provocative? Yeah, probably. Does it objectify women? Definitely, but we'll come back to that. Effective? You better believe it.
Most of us couldn't afford an Aston Martin if we wanted to, but this is advertising perfection. To make a great advertisement, often times you have to step on some toes. I couldn't count how many people this ad pissed off. Simply by likening an attractive woman to one of their cars, they have successfully associated their product with a lifestyle. At the same time, they more than likely just alienated a large amount of women who previously only saw an Aston Martin as a high end vehicle, who now see it as an object which objectifies their gender. Such are the calculated risks of the advertising industry. A group of people got together and decided that the reward outweighed the risk in running this ad, and I don't have the data, but I would guess their risk payed off.
This is just one of many issues I have with the advertising game. I feel like it is just that: a game. In order to win, you have to find that "wow" factor. You have to stop people in their tracks with something flashy, sexy, or just plain wrong. As a consumer base, we're drawn to anything of this nature because its a step outside our comfort zone. Ads like this are going to continue, and if I had to guess, I would say we will see them more frequently in the near future. Its about time to cozy up to the unusual, provocative, questionable, and sometimes uncomfortable ads we'll inevitably see in the years to come. If you stand by your morals and refuse to see the humor in these ads, kudos to you and your steadfast nature. But while you're busy bashing one ad after another, the rest of us will be busy laughing at you and each new ad that pushes the limits of what we see as "acceptable."
Now back to the ad at hand. Some people want her. Some people want to be her. Some people like Tyler Durden refuse to be sold an image by advertising. But no matter what we want - her, the car, the lifestyle, or none of the above - every one of us noticed that ad. So until next time...
- JD
Now that I have your attention, lets break down this ad. Provocative? Yeah, probably. Does it objectify women? Definitely, but we'll come back to that. Effective? You better believe it.
Most of us couldn't afford an Aston Martin if we wanted to, but this is advertising perfection. To make a great advertisement, often times you have to step on some toes. I couldn't count how many people this ad pissed off. Simply by likening an attractive woman to one of their cars, they have successfully associated their product with a lifestyle. At the same time, they more than likely just alienated a large amount of women who previously only saw an Aston Martin as a high end vehicle, who now see it as an object which objectifies their gender. Such are the calculated risks of the advertising industry. A group of people got together and decided that the reward outweighed the risk in running this ad, and I don't have the data, but I would guess their risk payed off.
This is just one of many issues I have with the advertising game. I feel like it is just that: a game. In order to win, you have to find that "wow" factor. You have to stop people in their tracks with something flashy, sexy, or just plain wrong. As a consumer base, we're drawn to anything of this nature because its a step outside our comfort zone. Ads like this are going to continue, and if I had to guess, I would say we will see them more frequently in the near future. Its about time to cozy up to the unusual, provocative, questionable, and sometimes uncomfortable ads we'll inevitably see in the years to come. If you stand by your morals and refuse to see the humor in these ads, kudos to you and your steadfast nature. But while you're busy bashing one ad after another, the rest of us will be busy laughing at you and each new ad that pushes the limits of what we see as "acceptable."
Now back to the ad at hand. Some people want her. Some people want to be her. Some people like Tyler Durden refuse to be sold an image by advertising. But no matter what we want - her, the car, the lifestyle, or none of the above - every one of us noticed that ad. So until next time...
- JD
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