Promotion Through Sex and Empowerment
These are two commercials advertising very different products but using methods of strength, each representing one sex respectively. the first commercial is about men and Guinness beer. The second is about Nike and it uses prominent female athletes. What are the different characteristics used to show the empowerment of each commercial? Why is the issue of sex and its use more prevalent in the women’s commercial? Why were no machines used during this video other than very simple ones?
Guinness:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b96ION3azqg
Nike:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B5sfE1fjLs
The Guinness commercial is associating their drink as a man's drink because there are only men in the commercial and they're doing stereotypical manly jobs such as hammering and essentially building the environment. Even the explosive in the beginning of the video is a stereotype because boys love to blow things up. Opposite is the nike commercial that advertises towards women. They only use women in the commercial and promote exercising. I think this is a good and effective tactic for Nike to advertise directly towards women because they have commercials that advertise only towards men.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the directors of the commercial basically make the male sex out to be “Gods” by showing only men creating the world. The director’s message seems to be that drinking Guinness you will get you on the level of a God. Furthermore, the director is saying that only men have the opportunity to be “God-like” and therefore, only men should drink Guinness. This stereotype is one that has been upheld in culture for years. I also agree that Nike used athletic women in their commercial because the commercial was intended to sell a product that is meant only for women, and more specifically, athletic women. I believe that this approach is a smart marketing strategy.
DeleteNow is the Guinness add attempting to put forth the thought of godliness or responsibility?
DeleteI think it's putting both thoughts of godliness and responsibility forth. By “creating” the world and putting it together piece by piece this shows godliness, but because of all the men it gives off a sense of responsibility too. The majority of the men in this video are also white. I think I only saw maybe one of a different ethnicity. This kind of gives the message that white men are the toughest of the tough and only the white men could put the world together. This relates to the assumption that God and Jesus were white. While no one really knows about God, people just assume he’s white because the white race has always been “supreme.” The Nike commercial is the opposite. It shows all kinds of different races of women, but like Sam said, they used more athletic women.
DeleteI totally agree with Becca that the beer commercial is aiming to men. Only men are in the commercial and the commercial is somewhat destructive; huge nature is moving and they break things, blow things up.
DeleteIn the Guinness commercial, the director is making the comparison of men to the creators of the world. You could almost assume that these men are "gods". With the assumption of these men being gods, it makes the audience of the commercial believe that if they drink Guinness then they may have the same outcome. This is obviously exaggerated, but it makes the intended drinker of the beer to be a manly man. In the Nike commercial, the director took 3 very athletic women to sell their shoe. They used these women because it shows who the shoe is intended for. Not saying that Nike is descriminating against unfit women, but lets be honest they were not targeting the women dont exercise.
ReplyDeleteThe Guinness commercial shows men as the makers of the Earth. They are shown as strong and powerful, making the entire world with their own hands. These men are shown as the epitome of masculinity, which in turn shows their empowerment. The message that Guinness is putting is out that their drink (beer) is meant for men, which is a stereotype in and of itself. Conversely, in the Nike commercial women are shown in an empowered light. The women are shown as strong, dedicated and driven. Furthermore, these women are solely focused on their sport. The issue of sex is more prevalent in the women’s commercial because Nike is specifically targeting women as the consumer of their product. In order to sell their product to women Nike uses strong, athletic women in their commercial. No machines were used in this video because the use of machinery is not necessary to sell the Nike product to women.
ReplyDeleteThe Guinness commercial was definitely geared more so towards men, since they assume that beer is a "manly" drink and they know that their main consumers will be men. The men in the commercial are assumed to possess "God-like" qualities since the voiceover in it says, "It's time to bring this place to life," and then men begin to work on nature, empowering them. I didn't know what this commercial was trying to sell until the very end, whereas in the Nike commercial I could tell that they were trying to sell Nike gear. The Guinness commercial used a variety of men, while the Nike commercial focused on three women athletes. The Nike commercial was also obviously geared towards women since they are no men shown in the commercial. They use three women who are in different sports, showing that wearing Nike is best in these shown sports. They also showed these three athletes doing different workouts and promoting Nike by using their gear. The commercial says that these three women are making themselves “proud,” “shine,” and “hot,” so that causes viewers to assume that wearing Nike can help us to also become these things since it helps these women athletes during workouts for their sports.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that the Guinness commercial targets men only and does so in a way that makes them seem “God-like.” I think its interesting too that they bring the place to life because that brings out man’s typical goal to conquer nature. I agree that this commercial didn’t really have anything to do with beer until the very end, yet, since the men now associate the beer with being “God-like” they actually sell the product. For the Nike commercial, I agree that it was only targeted to women due to the fact that they showed strong athletic women making themselves proud. It’s an interesting idea how they sell this product because most women have self confidence issues and by seeing these powerful successful women with strong bodies that women want, they can associate that with the product.
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DeleteI also agree that the Guinness commercial targets men only, and by the way they portrayed them in the commercial it made them feel as if they were on top of the world. The drink is considered to be manly drink targeted for men only. The Guinness commercial used many different men throughout their commercial and I was not sure what the product they were trying to sell until the end of the commercial. The Nike commercial on the other hand was definitely only targeted for women. This commercial only used three women athletes instead of a variety like the Guinness. The Nike commercial picked three women athletes to sell their product so that the audience could relate to them, that if they wear these products they could be like the athletes shown. The women in the commercial are very athletic and confident. So by showing the women as being successful and confident, it draws the women audience in because they want to feel the same way as the women in the commercial.
I completely agree with Peyton about the expected outcome of the commercials. While watching the Guinness commercial, I didn't know exactly what the commercial was promoting until the very end, when it was explicitly stated. The way it was directed seemed to leave it open to interpretation until the end (the director may have done this on purpose to let the viewer's minds wander for a bit). On the other hand, I knew exactly what the Nike commercial was promoting (with all the zooming in on shoes). I think the fact that the Guinness commercial's product wasn't known from the start, but the Nike commercial's product was known from the start, makes a statement about masculinity. Just like the Calvin Klein "story" commercial, the Guinness commercial seems to show that masculinity's nature is "mysterious" and "unknown."
DeleteThat's a great point about the comparison between the fragrances and the Guinness commercial but if you recall, the womens fragrance commercial also was very elusive with its product until the end. Does this mean that all products issued towards me need some connection to a thought or feeling whereas womens products are advertised in such a way to show fashion or utility?
DeleteBoth commercials use different techniques of showing empowerment. As others have stated, the Guinness commercial is the more "manly man" type of ad. It depicts men "bringing a world to life" by completing tasks such as chiseling a coral reef and essentially "making" a forest. These types of tasks display the men's "machismo." They also demonstrate a manly man's ambitious character. This, along with the men's resemblance to "gods," makes the product appealing. It sends the message that one is more of a man with the product than without it. Transitioning away from "godliness," the Nike commercial is geared more toward women. It features 3 athletic women promoting the concept(s) of making themselves "proud", "shine", and "hot." Besides being a good motivational video, Nike's marketing strategy in this is effective. It sends the message that whoever wears these shoes can be as athletic and self-confident as the women in the video.
ReplyDeleteI agree that both commercials use different techniques of showing empowerment. The directors enlarge the trait of each gender; men are dominance in the world, and women are radiant and confident. The directors use the empowerment to make their audience feel powerful for using their products. It also implies that the self-expression comes form the products you are using.
DeleteI have to agree with all of the thoughts in Chris's post. I am not sure what to think about the fact that no Guinness product is ever shown in the commercial until after the men are finished creating the "world." I think this has somewhat of an impact on the idea that Guinness should be tied to what it is the men are doing. I also agree that the use of the female athletes in the Nike commercial is a good marketing technique, and the commercial as a whole is empowering for women. Although I am not sure about the marketing effectiveness of this one either, since no specific product is identified.
DeleteThe Guinness beer World Ad shows really what a "manly man". When people see this commercial I feel like they think they can conquer the world. The beer commercial shows only men and the sweet things men can do. They're pulling the grass across the bare wild just like a grounds crew would pull a tarp over a field when its raining. In the Nike commercial I feel like it gives women a sense of empowerment. As there are only women in this video. The video begins with famous woman athletes; they do this to show that women can successful athletes. Throughout the video there are imagines the reveal women in a position of strength. This is one of many current advertisements that Nike has made to show women and how strong they can be.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Aaron on the aspects of the Nike commercial. It does use a little sex appeal, but mainly uses it as a ploy to promote their main message of strength. The video presents a group of popular female athletes that are continuing to strive to accomplish their goals. All of the women are recognizable strong and in good shape. Like Aaron said, I think Nike is trying to put forth the idea of feminine strength rather than sexiness. By highlighting motions and workout routines done by these powerful popular women, it gives the consumer the sense that they can be seen as strong women. When the commercial shows what drives each of girls to continue to work hard, it further supports the concept of female empowerment. Instead of focusing on their bodies/sex appeal, it reflects on what drives them and inspires the audience to consider what drives them to become strong.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Aaron the commerical does make you think men can do anything. They do show they can conquer the world. As far as the nike commerical they make women seem as they are very strong and healthy and of course nike is one of the reasons why. Overall two very different products but still selling the same idea and pushing the different sexes to do it.
ReplyDeleteThe Guinness commercial illustrated how men created nature on earth. They represented this through the actions of men working with basic tools. By only using basic tools and brute strength, the commercial gave the men the persona of being hard working and intuitive. The scenes make notice of the fundamental tools, and how they are used to accomplish such amazing feats on ingenuity. Putting forth the image of men creating nature allows it to be interpreted as a “god-like” power. I felt that Guinness’s approach was to make men aware of the hard workers they are and all that they accomplish. Giving them the conception that they deserve this beer for the deeds they have done. On the other hand, the Nike commercial is primarily targeting females. They introduce a female group of recently made popular Olympic athletes. All of which are involved in different sports, possible trying to make note of the diverse market that Nike is attempting to cover. The commercial shows the athletes striving to reach their goals of being proud, shine, and hot. During the montage of them working out, the camera captures the fit, sexy bodies of the athletes. This commercial possible targets sex more because the woman who are buying athletic appeal aspire to be as in shape, or as attractive as these athletes.
ReplyDeleteI think the Guinness commercial is very obviously trying to appeal to men through this commercial, most notably through featuring only men in the commercial. The men’s actions certainly can be described as showing them like “gods” but I am not sure how this ties in to Guinness’ purpose of selling beer, especially since there is never a hint of showing Guinness beer paired with the men who are constructing a world. The characteristics that show empowerment in this commercial would obviously be the “god” status of the men in the commercial. As for the Nike women commercial I think it is also empowering for women because it features prominent female athletes talking about never giving up and always giving 100 percent. The message is encouraging women to exercise, and to use Nike products when doing it. I think both of these commercials are meant to be empowering, but they go about it in drastically different ways.
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