Focussing on specific examples, describe the way
advertising has been influenced by Psychoanalysis and ‘The Gaze’?
The Gaze display women as objects, ‘Objectification
is the accomplished fact: an internalized, nearly invariable response by the
male to a form that is, in his estimation and experience, sufficiently what he
needs to provoke arousal.’ (Dworkin 1979: 113). Influenced by advertising,
magazines and film, this vulnerable imagery of women allows men to perceive
females in an inequality way. It is often an area of the female body that is
being focussed on that gives men the satisfaction of their sexuality. But what
is it that caused this male power? Areas are looked into ‘that is explored
using the psychoanalytical writings of Sigmund Freud.’ (Coward, R, 1984).
In the late 1890’s Sigmund Freud introduced the
theory of Psychoanalysis in Vienna after much human observation and research,
which was originally rejected by the society. At the time it was unknown that
Freud’s theory would contribute to the Western Worlds consumer culture. Freud
faced criticism of his discovery for many years. Within the theory itself,
there is even more expanding ideas on the development of the cognition in the
human mind. He treated hysteria patients using psychoanalysis by guiding them
to discover and accept repressed thoughts and events. The ‘Dynamic
Unconsciousness’ is an element of the psychoanalysis structure, which suggests
that by repressing thoughts and feelings, the conscious self would become
protected. This part of the mind could also uncover hidden phobias, desires and
complexes. The unconsciousness was suggested to be chaotic, without order or
language. Freud has a psychodynamic approach to explain personality, which is
spilt into three sections; the ID determines the instinct, the Ego is organized
and realistic and the Superego can stop the instincts that the ID might have.
This structural model is about the behaviour of the psyche rather than
supporting the science of the brain.
It was the ‘ Unconsciousness’ that drove Freud’s
nephew; Edward Bernays to experiment with how the public was influenced by
advertising. In return for Freud’s book on his theory, Bernays gave him a box
of cigars. Known as the ‘Godfather
of PR’, Bernay applied the knowledge of the unconscious desire to campaigns,
gaining the power to revolutionise advertising by manipulation. Bernays was
originally employed to advertise working at war; it became apparent that
through the representation of Nazi Propaganda, Bernays could control a crowd of
people and how they respond to advertisement. Selling a product is the epitome
of advertising. Without it, objects would be undesired and more or less unknown
that they even exist. As time has gone on advertising has be captured in all
different kinds of media. Freud and his psychoanalysis theories influenced
Bernays to manipulate the power of advertising within the masses. His first
conquer was the use of Propaganda in 1928. ‘The conscious and intelligent
manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important
element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of
society constitute an invisible government, which is the true ruling power of
our country…’ (Bernays, E: 2004). This confidence in Bernays theory implies a
strategy that has been addressed and put into action. With Bernays epiphany of
manipulation, he took these skills and applied it to other political and social
contexts. Little was it known that Bernays strategies, based on his Uncles
psychoanalysis theory would influence the world of promotion for decades. In
the 1920’s, Bernays began working for a tobacco company, based in America. Seen
by society, smoking was a habit mainly adopted by the male gender. The act
suggested power, authority and control. To break this taboo, ‘Bernays
hypothesized that by understanding the group mind, it would be possible to
manipulate people's behaviour without their even realizing it. To test this
hypothesis, Bernays launched one of his most famous public relations campaigns:
convincing women to smoke’ (Bernays, E: 2004). Encouraging women to smoke would
represent the power that they had and therefore challenging the male power and
how they were perceived. A lucky strike advert recited ‘Reach for a lucky
instead of a sweet’. This loaded phrase suggests a more feminine take on
cigarette promotion. Another advert uses the tagline ‘To keep a slender figure,
no one can deny….’. This link to body image promotes what they think is an
attainable figure with this cigarette in their lives, which is in fact the
opposite of what this product would do to a human being. However, relatable and
inspiring images are enough to trick the minds of young women. The women on the
Lucky Strike adverts portrayed a sense of sophistication, style and power,
which of course is what the onlookers strived to be. The symbolic meaning of a
single product created the illusion of this glamorous lifestyle. The way Bernay
increased the sales of a product that can in fact cause illness and death
through manipulation of the cognitive process on an individual, is a skill that
led to advertising evolving.
In contrast to this, a lot of advertising in the
twentieth century was aimed at men portraying women in a controversial way. The
Gaze looked at women in an objective sense, allowing society to peruse this way
of thinking. Manipulation of words and images in campaigns uncovered a clear
target audience; for example, a 1950’s ‘Vue’ magazine cover saw the picture of
a young woman, proposing the tagline ‘My hobby is men’. (See fig 1). This
delicate gaze is appealing to the male gender. Edward Bernay persuaded women to
smoke in a new trend of adverts however, some cigarette companies responded to
this power battle by reminding men they still embodied control. Tipalet tobacco
used the phrase ‘blow on her face and she will follow you everywhere’,
undercutting a background image of a man breathing cigarette smoke into
glamorous women’s face. (See fig 2). Not only is this advert insulting to
women, it is also suggesting that if men smoke then they will gain the power of
an unattainable female. Referred to as an object, this advert implies an
irrational message that women will act as told by a man. This way of perceiving
women actually goes back to the fifteenth century when painting the female body
was a hobby. Han's Memling 'vanity' (1485) represents social and cultural
power. All artists at this point were men until about the late twentieth
century. This image would have been painted for men and therefore created a fantasy.
The painting sees a naked women gazing at herself in her reflection of a
mirror, she is aware she is being gazed at and revels in it. The woman is also
aware she is a sexual object. Men for men create the femininity of this woman.
Viewing a nude painting of women is a way men can gaze with no feeling of guilt
and retaining class. This concept is something that has followed through to
advertising today. Even television programmes reveal this idea of women through
personalities like Katie Price. It comes across that women are easily
controlled and have it in their aim to appeal to the male audience by revealing
themselves in a sexual way.
The power of the gaze, suggests that the women can
take can control of a male. Here the role is reversed. It reflects an assertive
femininity. If successful women are advertised in a provocative way, it is a
way of females confronting the theory of women being objectified by men. A semi
naked women looking at a male saying she 'can't cook' therefore proposes
disappointment. Either being a domestic wife or a sexual object, here are two
different male fantasies being displayed. The Wonder bra advert also saw this
theory put into action with they ‘Hello boys’ campaign. (Wonderbra: 1994: see
fig 3). One of the most iconic adverts led the male into a distraction of
female advertising. Instead of women being objectified by men, they are
allowing themselves to be objectified by each other. This manipulation allows
females to gain control, domination and power. 'Women is flesh, often feel
embarrassed, irritated or downright angered by men's persistent gaze...those
women on billboards, though; they look back.' (Coward, R: 1984). This observation implies that women in the street
often don't appreciate the gaze of the male; it can make them feel objectified
and uncomfortable. Therefore this kind of behaviour is made less sociably
acceptable. However women in the images of billboards and adverts can be
noticed, as their purpose is to appeal to men. They offer engaging looks back,
which fulfil the male fantasy. This idea looms that initially it is the
appearance of a male and female that draws an attraction. The society has
become overly concerned with appearance rather than someone views and
personality traits. However even though women may feel as though they have
gained power 'Advertising in this society builds precisely on the creation of
an anxiety to the effect that, unless we measure up, we will not be loved.' (Coward,
R:1984). Women spend too much time and effort
trying to meet societies expectations. However men and their fantasies created
these expectations. So even though females may have attempted to take the Gaze
into their own hands, in fact it is males that manipulated the theory in the
first place. Therefore women have created pressure on themselves. Another view
of the theory is suggesting that nowadays the women's behaviour is now
controlled by their own decisions and there mind based on the images that media
expose them to. The way women have been perceived in the media for decades has
produced two kind of outcomes, or it could be said, two types of women. Some
women see unattainable images of other women that make them feel inadequate and
not attractive and others see it as unrealistic for the average women but in a
positive way.
These days it isn’t just companies that have sexual
connotation that display this in there advertising. Some shops and businesses
simply adopt a more provocative identity to increase sales and attract more
customers. However there are multiple views on the weather this is a positive
thing is inappropriate on some levels. For example ‘American Apparel’s
marketing strategy has brought the brand mainstream attention ever since they
implemented it years ago’. (English.mashkulture.net: American Apparel). American apparel, an American clothing brand that
promotes their products in a racy, fetish like manner. Its controversial
advertising has set them apart from their high street competitors. Using female
models that are quirky yet display sexiness in a ‘bad girl’ ideal, influences
not only what people wear but also what kind of girl they want to become. Using
taglines such as ‘Cotton. You can feel how good it looks’ (English.mashkulture.net: American
Apparel) with an image of a half naked girl
looking rebellious suggests that with the products, young girls can aspire to
look good, effortlessly. Over the years, American Apparel has caused uproar
forcing some adverts to even be banned. ‘The ASA said that it was “offensive
and irresponsible” (UK, P: 2013) American Apparel Adverts Banned to use some of the images as they sexualised a model
that looked under-16 and that these could be viewed by minors. Elsewhere, some
other ads for hosiery website were deemed “unnecessarily sexual and
inappropriate”, “sexually suggestive and gratuitous” and “submissive and
sexually suggestive.’ UK, P. (2013). American Apparel Adverts Banned Allowing young girls to be promoted this way, allows
males to objectify them in an inappropriate manner. However, some people think
that American Apparels way of advertising is revolutionary and should be
encouraged. Are the adverts only seen as sexual because of people’s assumption
of the brand or is they’re more to it than that? If anything this Manipulated
strategy has created a lot of press around the brand and enhanced their
presence. ‘The attention the new campaign is attracting online is exactly what
American Apparel wants. The brand has worked hard at creating an image for
itself that is "soaked in youth and sex". UK, P. (2013). American
Apparel Adverts Banned Provocative advertising
is their artillery. Their site even has a special section labelled
"provocative ads’. This analysis implies that has objectifying women
become a trend, and if so, are women accepting it and taking advantage of the
power of advertising? Similarly to this hipster, rebellious advertising, vice
magazine portrays this sort of imagery conveying women. 'Vice' magazine has
been redefining style and pushing back the frontiers of taste for 15 years with
images of nudity, death, drugs, war and more. Its creators say they're in the
‘great tradition of satire – telling their readers what the mainstream media
won't dare to’. (The Independent: media). This implies that beauty has a new
look and it may be more attainable than the latest supermodels figure and skin.
Vice magazine communicates a beauty to teenage girls that is grungy and almost
sinful. The outrageous stories twinned with an image that can only be described
as controversial, displays somehow an inspiring lifestyle. Brands like this
show how just like everything else, advertising works on a trend basis.
Depending on who the latest role model is and the style that that they exude,
determines the inspiration. For example, Kate Moss did a campaign for
‘Obsession’ a fragrance from Calvin Klein for men where she was photographed
naked with her arms covering you breasts. In this image she looks particularly
skinny rather than a healthy, glowing women. Her hair is slicked back forming a
more masculine look. This boyish style that Kate Moss is portraying in the
advert is somehow influential to females even though it is essentially aimed at
men. Instantly this advert has the power to encourage women to adopt a look
that they wouldn’t necessary class as attractive but because a celebrity is
displaying this certain identity, it becomes more appealing. Additionally,
because the product being sold is actually for men, female onlookers assume
that this is the kind of woman that a male desires. Obviously this way of
thinking is false but the power of advertising has manipulated the observers so
that their products will not only sell more successfully but give them control
on people may buy into the future.
‘Catherine Deneuve’s face and the Chanel bottle are
not linked by any narrative, simply by Juxtaposition.’ (Williamson, J: 2004).
This observation referring to a 1975 Chanel poster suggests that there isn’t
actually a meaning to why Catherine Deneuve is the face of this campaign. The only meaning relevant is to what it
means to the audience. ‘What Catherine Deneuve’s face means to us in the world
of magazines and films, Chanel No.5 seeks to mean and comes to mean in the
world of consumer goods.’ (Williamson, J: 2004). This explanation expresses the
idea that it is in fact the image being presented as whole that makes a product
sell rather than two meaningless images standing alone. The image of Catherine
Deneuve ‘Signifies glamour and beauty’ (Williamson, J: 2004) therefore so does
the perfume, increasing the chances of appealing to women in the public. Even
though the image is simple and not provocative, is still embodies a sense of
femininity, sophistication and desirability. It is posters like this that has
moulded brands such as Chanel and the design approaches made distinguished what
tone of voice they would communicate for years to come.
Other brands including these, display how women,
after decades, are still used and photographed in provocative ways. However,
manipulation and the gaze influenced this approach to advertising. Even though
it is sometimes more obvious than others, the cognition of a human being has
been greatly considered when brands and companies are evaluating their target
audience. Predicting how an advert can be received, whether it is for men or women,
is a skill that can allow a business to make the most money. Even if a product
isn’t a necessity essential or aesthetically pleasing, the power of advertising
has become so strong that practically anything can be sold with the right
strategy. Many aspects make up a successful advert, but it has been apparent
that women have played a crucial part in this. Some females may take offence to
this observation; others may think it shows power and domination. Either way,
this technique will continue to evolve and create controversy on the way. ‘The
first thing that advertisers do is surround us with the image of ideal female
beauty, so we all learn how important it is for a woman to be beautiful, and
exactly what it takes.’ (www.john-wright: response to jean Kilbourne women in
advertising). In the words of Jean Kilbourne, this statement sums up the
effects of women advertising.
Bibliography
