Check out the new ad for the clothes line for Dolce and Gabanna. Initial reaction? Some of you may recognize this ad as the one pulled for depicting ‘gang rape’. Others may just flip past this ad in a magazine as “just another edgy D&G ad”.
However, deconstruction of this advertisement shows two things:
1. This is ad is probably directed at men.
Besides the obvious fact that the majority of the clothing models are men, the woman is depicted in a way that is demeaning to herself. Also, examine the way the men are viewing the woman, most are looking down at her while she lays helplessly on the ground. John Berger, a famous art critic, notes in his essay Ways of Seeing that women are portrayed in paintings as objects, and more often than not they are depicted as being lower than men, and usually seen in some provocative way (Ways of Seeing, 52). This ad is evidently no exception.
2. This ad is eye-catching.
Whether or not this ad was actually trying to depict gang rape or not, it has done the job of catching our attention. As with many name-brand designer clothing ads, most of the time the advertisement is directed at promoting the company name rather than the actual apparel. Take for example, the famous Abercrombie and Fitch clothing line. Most of their ads consist of people hardly wearing clothing at all. Media can affect us in negative ways, but also make us think (about the company, advertisement, whatever -we are thinking about it).
John Berger displays a key idea in discussing the role women play in photos. The term ‘sex sells’ is used quite frequently when discussing advertisements like the one pictured above. Women sell too, or rather are used as a method to sell. There is of course the moral debate of whether women should be portrayed in this way in order to promote a company, but that is part of what makes this advertisement so effective. It has us thinking.
Works Cited:
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London, England: Penguin Books, 1972. Print.
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