Advertising principles and practices

Advertising

McLeod explains how the advertising industry uses the body to help sell its wares. Moreover, it creates and shifts the body ideal to suit its needs. Body image manipulation in advertising is often characterized as a female body issue, but the male body is also subject to such image manipulation. Moreover, image manipulation in males goes beyond body image to include images of wealth, status and sexual potency. Each of these exploits a traditional male insecurity, resulting in a body of advertising that exploits men every bit as much as it exploits women.

There has always been an ideal image of the male body in Western culture. To the ancient Greeks, a lack of muscle was desirable, because it indicated your social standing as one who does not perform manual labor. In modern times, that ideal has been turned on its head. Images abound of ripped muscles, chiseled jaws and seductive eyes. The males in advertising represent an ideal that most men have trouble achieving. The male ideal has become increasingly well-developed in recent years as the exploitation of male security has been increased. Ads for beauty products and status symbols play most strongly to male insecurity.

An examination of current websites illustrates male exploitation in advertising. The new campaign for Old Spice Swagger portrays rich, successful, attractive males vis-a-vis an old, uglier, less confident version of themselves. The message is simple: without the product, you are that weak, less confident man. The website for Men's Health magazine is less subtle - all the ads feature well-muscled men. Even in products unrelated to physical appearance we see the same paradigm. Budweiser's ad "Lager Lessons" plays exploits a number of male insecurities, from the perceived fear of commitment to the fact that all of the men are attractive. The message that the advertising industry sends men is clear - you are not good enough and our product will fix that. There is no discernible difference between these messages and the ones that are sent to women by the advertising industry.