Currently Listening to: Sleep - The Dandy Warhols
What the hell does Dolce & Gabbana even sell? Sunglassses? Purses? Alright, fine. But who in God's name is the company's marketing and development coordinator? If publishing ads like the one above have really helped boost corporate sales, then kudos to them. My instincts tell me, however, that this advertisement in particular did not.
Let us decipher this ad, shall we? We've got your stereotypical group of 'attractive' men - all of whom have toned bodies, perfectly tanned and oiled, half naked. Hm, interesting. I'm sure all men who purchase Dolce & Gabbana products resemble these men. Honestly now, who looks like that naturally? Look at the fellow on the left, in the purple shirt. Does he not resemble that mannequin from your local Sears? Good grief, all of these men have clearly been Photoshopped to the extreme. They don't even look like real people.
And what are the men doing? Next to standing around looking pretty, they're all watching their other buddy go down on a chick in an interesting corset. Oh, he's gonna get lucky.
What messages do this advertisement send to men and women? For men, it's the not-so-subtle insinuation that the identical "hot" bodies here can get you the girl. Specifically to me, it says "Look like this, wear D&G jeans, and you'll have great sex." Thanks. I'm gonna run out and buy myself a nice, expensive pair of Dolce & Gabbana jeans so I can get laid tonight. Not.
What message does it send to women? Really, there's only one message I see here: Women are sex objects. This ad glorifies gang rape! The one guy literally is holding down the woman in her underwear, and she's looking away. The other four men stand around watching - and you know that the fellow standing directly behind the rape scene is going to have a turn.
The advertisement demeans both men and women - it looks to men as raging nymphomaniacs, and women as mere sex objects. I can't even tell you what this is advertising. I mean, other than sex.
But hey, as my friend's mom told me when I was in grade 8 - sex sells. I guess slapping a few 'desirable' men and a sexy, curvy women on a piece of glossy paper helps sell more Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses and handbags. We're living in a society where sex can sell anything - even if it demeans consumers along the way.
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