http://www.buzzfeed.com/burnred/degrading-deodrant-ads-banned-in-the-uk-281t
I was just browsing Buzzfeed.com and The first article I posted caught my attention. Lynx (which is what Axe deodorant is called in the UK) produced these ads to promote their deodorant. The ads are now banned in the UK because the ASA received complaints that the ads were offensive. I was happy to see that these offensive ads were banned because a few people spoke up, and I hope that this will encourage people in the US and other parts of the world to do the same. I found it disturbing that Unilever (the manufacturer of the deodorant) said this according to the Daily Mail article "Unilever said consumers had ‘come to expect, and were comfortable with, the narrative, tone and content seen in their ads’." . Basically the company thinks it is acceptable to produce ads that objectify and offend women, because that's what consumers expect and are comfortable with. What do you guys think of the ads? Do you think they are more offensive than others? And how do you feel about them being banned?
What I find really offensive in these ads is that they do not even "hide" the male gaze factor anymore (the see but not be seen). This woman is overtly and admittedly on display for the male audience. And of course it perpetuates the traditionnal stereotypes (women's first role is to be attractive to men and to serve them too - kitchen ad).
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if the ad was banned because it is overtly sexist instead of more inferential. Which one do you think is more powerful: overt or inferential sexism (or racism too).
I have read about ads being banned mostly in the UK, does anyone of you know about ads that were banned in the US? I think the FTC is in charge of advertising regulation in the US. Do you think because it deals with a large number of consumer and trade issues it is less efficient than the ASA? Or is it just a cultural difference (if less ads are banned in the US)?