http://womensissues.about.com/od/mediaimagesandinfluences/fl/The-World-of-Femvertising.htm
Since we can remember advertising has been a part of our daily lives and it doesn't seem like it's going to end anytime soon. Effective advertising targets its audience while reinforcing or creating stereotypes that back the products use or benefit. Ads can undermine, exaggerate, or insinuate common beliefs to draw attention and make a statement.
From the golden era of advertising, to radio and print ads before that women have been sought after consumers, "women control over $20 trillion, or 70% of global consumer spending." Advertising aimed for women is not necessarily always empowering and therefore can hurt the company's bottom line. That's where femvertising - appealing to the positive attributes of womanhood, without demeaning, belittling, or shaming women - comes in.
A survey compiled by SheKnows found that 52% percent of women admitted to buying a product because they liked how a company's ads presented women and 43% of women admitted it made them feel good about supporting the brand. Fama Francisco, VP for global feminine care at Proctor & Gamble believes that, "Femvertising works because these types of ads champion girls and women - they speak directly to them, and the people who love them..." The pitfalls of femvertising, some argue, is that it can be perceived as inauthentic; "inauthentic support cheapens the idea of women's equality, and that is dangerous not only for the purveyors of business behind those token messages, but to the feminist movement itself."
When reading the article I saw the many benefits to femvertising with how it approaches bringing women into the marketplace and getting them to buy products, however, it can exploit women's interests and beliefs for the sole purpose of making money. Advertising has always toed the line of morality when purposely influencing buyers' by exploiting tendencies and/or insecurities. Without originality and true purpose, these ads can quickly look inauthentic and tarnish any attempt to support women, making women seem only as a business commodity.
To most femvertising is good, "It proves that female consumers do not have to be talked down to in order for companies to sell their products and underscores the ongoing cultural shifts away from the sexism that has plagued advertising since its inception."
What do you think?
I have often thought that many ads or commercials were offensive to women for this specific reason, and many times I've felt like my personal interests were exploited for the sake of products. However, while this style of advertising exploits women and their interests, that is the ultimate goal of marketing. I am not a marketing major, but I do know that a lot of psychology is involved in the process of writing and designing advertising campaigns. Teams specifically design these things around targeting the largest groups possible in the hopes of receiving their business in return.
ReplyDeleteThe reason that I put my personal feelings toward these kinds of ads aside is because of these people are just doing their jobs and at the end of the day, what their job entails is bringing in business and generating profits, whether it's disingenuous or not.