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Advertising

 

            In the September 5th issue of Rolling Stone there are two advertisements that display very attractive people gazing and posing to the viewer. In advertising, we are bombarded by images that have become standard in defining beauty and what is acceptable, and we often don't realize it. In both of the ads, the person is gazing at the viewer with a sexy look. One ad is for hair gel, the other, for a backpack.
             The first ad is for L.A. Looks, a hair product that claims it "dries 33% faster than other gels." In the ad, a very good-looking man gazes at the spectator with a confidant and somewhat "bad-ass" look. He is sitting in a classic car with his hand on the wheel. This ad is designed to make consumers feel inadequate about their looks and with their product, they will be cool, confident and beautiful. This ad also has a rebel-like image being projected. The man looks like how James Dean would look into the camera while sitting in a `56 Chevy. His hair also resembles Dean's, wild and spontaneous. .
             Another part of the ad features a slogan saying, "blow off your blow dryer." This is also appealing to the rebel image, telling the audience to be too cool for their hair dryer. There is no real information about the product in this ad. The product is shown in the ad, but it is tiny and in the corner. The advertisers don't want to show the product or inform about it as much as they want to sell a look.
             In the second ad, there are 4 pictures of the same woman in different poses. She looks like she is ready for a night out partying, but is wearing a backpack. The .
             poses are portraying different images. One is a seductive one, two are dance poses, and a pose of her in thought. This ad associates Jansport Backpacks with a cool and sexy look. I feel that this shows that advertisers have used these kinds of images so much, that it is possible to advertise anything using these techniques.
             Another part of the ad is using a celebrity, although this person isn't too recognizable to me.


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