85% of purchasing decisions worldwide are made by women. Seven out of ten women feel that advertising is not for them.
The Russian division of the furniture giant IKEA was at the center of a scandal because of an advertising post in which users of social networks saw the comparison of a woman with a dog. As a result, the company was forced to urgently remove the post, which many found sexist, and apologize to anyone offended.
The selling face: a woman without rights
Advertising as an art reflects all the main processes taking place in society. Including feminization. In the early twentieth century, all advertising was blatantly sexist by modern standards. The reason is the passive role of a woman in society who was a wife, mother and housewife. Therefore, the marketing industry has focused on its core responsibilities. For example, a 1930s Kellogg’s cereal ad encouraged women to do more housework, and the 1960s home appliance brand Hoover reassured potential customers that there was no better Christmas present for women than an iron or vacuum cleaner. Advertising was in line with the social agenda. Women often volunteered for “second roles” and saw their lives solely in the “husband-children-home” paradigm.
A woman's body in the service of big money
In the second half of the twentieth century, the trend towards objectification of women became widespread in the field of promotion of goods and services. Despite the fact that feminist movements already existed and began to actively fight for equality, and women increasingly proclaimed their professional and personal viability, the exploitation of sexuality took over the advertising market for decades. For a long time, it was believed that any promo involving a half-naked girl is more effective than neutral commercials or posters. "Sex sells," marketers argued, and brands followed the rule unreservedly. What is the scandalous video of Calvin Klein, where Brooke Shields, languidly looking into the camera, whispered: "Do you want to know what is between me and my jeans?" Nothing. Despite some public excitement about exploiting the sexuality of the fifteen-year-old model, the desired effect was achieved - sales of Calvin Klein jeans jumped. “Because people want to be attractive in the eyes of others, and because they want romance, intimacy, love and the beautiful feelings that come with them, advertisers can show how their products will help fulfill their needs and desires.” Like it or not, products play a role in people’s intimate lives, says Tom Reichert, a professor at the University of Virginia who has spent 14 years studying the use of sex in advertising and its effects on perception.
Despite the fact that women are now the main consumers (85% of purchase decisions are made by women) and the core of the target audience of advertising, sexism has not disappeared from advertising, at least in a number of countries. According to The Guardian, the root of the evil lies in the fact that the advertising industry still has an overwhelming number of creative directors – men. "Perhaps that's why seven in ten women feel the ads aren't made for them," the study argues. While in Great Britain, Switzerland and a number of European countries the authorities at the legislative level protect women from public humiliation, in the East there are quite different mores. And in Russia, too.
In many European countries, women’s rights are no longer an empty phrase. A society freed from rigid stereotypes has adopted new rules and advocates equal opportunities for all, regardless of gender, race, religion or background. But in some cases, the catalyst for change at the legislative level is scandal. For example, this happened in France. Fashion house YSL repeatedly teetered on the verge of permissible, but a year ago still went beyond. Before the beginning of the next fashion week, 200 billboards appeared on the streets of Paris, which depicted models on roller skates in revealing outfits and suggestive poses. These posters, according to Parisians who have historically sought equality, presented women as an obvious sexual object. The hashtag #YSLRetireTaPubDegradante ("YSL, remove your shameful ads") quickly spread online. Just a few days later, by the decision of the Advertising Standards Committee of France, the brand removed all ambiguous advertising images, however, refrained from publicly admitting guilt. However, the wave had already risen – French women did not want to associate themselves with “sexual submission” – and the authorities of Paris, following the example of colleagues from London and Geneva, introduced a strict ban on sexism in advertising.
In the East, this is not the case. In patriarchal China, for example, society still expects women to perform traditional duties and rates men’s work many times higher (BBC China’s editor resigned earlier this year on the grounds of gender discrimination). The best thing a woman can do is get married. And when the local IKEA presented to the public a video in which the mother chastises her daughter for the fact that she still did not bring the young man to meet his parents, no one expected trouble. But active unmarried girls rebelled and demanded satisfaction. The Swedish furniture giant has apologised and promised to fix it.
Just a year ago, the Chinese representative office of Audi released a video in which it compared a woman with a used car and advised when choosing “to pay attention to the technical characteristics”. Scandalous advertising could be seen not only on the Internet - it was broadcast in most cinemas of China before the sessions. The video outraged millions of people around the world – the group was forced to publicly apologize and withdraw advertising from distribution.
Why women in Russia are not interested in their rights
Interestingly, in our country over the past 20 years, it was women who proposed the most misogynistic bills, including initiatives on forced chemical sterilization and a tax on childlessness, which, fortunately, were not adopted. And if you listen to the speeches of some deputies, you might think that they are guided not by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, but by Domostroy. Take at least the sex scandal with Leonid Slutsky - which of his female colleagues publicly condemned him? Only MP Oksana Pushkina. Therefore, it is not surprising that women’s rights are at best not respected and at worst openly violated.
Advertising activity in Russia is regulated by the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), which sometimes exacerbates the already precarious situation. For example, not so long ago, the Expert Council at the FAS for the Arkhangelsk region condemned the advertising of residential complexes of the company “Aquilon Invest”, where there is a girl in underwear and with a centimeter tape fixed in the chest area. “We have low prices and many complexes,” read the inscription on the billboard. Experts did not appreciate the humour and issued a ruling claiming that the ad insults women and indicates their “physical defect” – small breasts. We wanted the best, but it turned out as always. If the picture was captured a lush-breasted model, perhaps, would not find the billboard offensive at all.
The target for inappropriate humor can serve not only the female appearance, but also the role of a mother. At the end of 2016, the Moscow Credit Bank released a video featuring a workaholic mother, her neglected daughter and Santa Claus. He kidnaps the “negligent” parent, tortures her and thereby “re-educates”. In the finale of the short film, the heroine, aware of her mistakes, cries. The "Touching New Year's Story" failed miserably. Not only is a woman on the screen the sole breadwinner, so she is also reproached for wanting to earn a living. Despite widespread criticism on social networks and the media, the bank’s management did not remove the “touching story” from the air, but instead promised to release a new video. This time it's less scandalous. A similar “social” advertisement appeared on Moscow billboards: a child wearing old-fashioned glasses with a knit in his hands and the caption “I don’t care?” was probably supposed to inspire mothers to give up work in order to devote more time to their own child. But given that every eighth Russian woman is raising children on her own, such a message looks insulting. And only thanks to social networks, public protest against the cultivation of gender stereotypes becomes more visible, significant, reaches the media and helps to form new social norms that completely exclude sexism in all its manifestations. Perhaps then the legislative framework in this area will be updated, following the example of Geneva, London and Paris.
However, there are many brands and influential professionals in the field of advertising who openly fight against the violation of women’s rights. For example, in 2016, Badger & Winter launched the #WomanNotObjects campaign and a video of the same name in which girls commented on sexist ads. The video ended with the words, “I am your mother, daughter, sister, co-worker or boss.” Don't talk to me like that. At the Cannes Lions festival, where the video premiered, the hall applauded standing.
Source: Forbes
