Class discussion on sex sells

The discussion in class Wednesday was very good I thought. My opinion on the whole topic is that yes women are demoralized by ads, and men do seek the dominant power, and yes women are in more violence related to sex then men, but I do not think that a commercial can affect the minds of men so greatly that they will react to the way the commercial wants them to behave. I am still sticking to my belief that people do not do what the commercial says. Although, I really liked Tony’s statement that society has to be shocked by the ad for them to pay attention to it. People will remember the commercial about Snickers and the two guys kissing compared to infomercials that just repeat a slogan over and over again. I do see how the women in the class are offended by the different ads presented in the article we read, but they must also realize those women chose to be in those ads. It is a job, and they must not have felt exploited by them. I believe that if it weren’t for this article we read, the majority of people would/do not talk about this on a daily basis.

Sex in the media

While reading this excerpt about advertising and sexuality, I tended to agree with Kilbourne’s argument. Sex does sell, and it is very useful when trying to promote a product. Men do seek power and domination. However, I wouldn’t say that the majority of males want to go out and just have sex with every girl they can. Advertising may say this or promote it, but not everyone listens. I personally never watch commercials. I am a channel surfer. So, last night was kind of hard for me to sit and watch just one channel for half an hour. The commercials to me are boring and full of crap.
I do agree with Kilbourne that women are portrayed as the “prey” or accomplishment of a challenge. Women are exposed in these ads, but the women that are modeling chose this. Men are exposed in the media as well. The use of sex goes both ways, but I do think that women are targeted more. I personally think that it is wrong, but honestly its just a commercial or ad. Most people don’t pay attention. If people took everything they saw on television seriously, our world would be full of lunatics.

Commercials

The commercial that I found very appealing to rhetoric was aired at about 7:30 Monday night. It was on Comedy Central and I was watching Scrubs. It is a television show about young doctors and the lives they live. The shows appeals to younger adults and teens. This is what made the commercial right for the crowd. It started just like a Scooby-Doo cartoon. There was a man sitting in a chair with a mask. The whole Mystery gang stood around him and took off the mask. The “bad guy” turned out to be the cable man. DirecTv was the company that made it. The creators were smart by using this cartoon. It catered to the audience of the show. The audience will remember the crime fighting comrades and relate to them as the “Heroes”. If the Mystery gang catches the bad guy, and he is the cable man then cable must be bad. I give props to the creators for their ingenuity and their appeal to the audience. I would compare this commercial to the one we watched in class about coke. It did the same thing by using the Grand Theft Auto scene.