Camel Ad example essay topic

Marilyn Monroe, Marlboro Man, Hugh Heffner, Pamela Anderson, and The Rock are all examples of the society of idols whom the American public has looked up to in various media forms. In today's society there are many gender and social stereotypes that remain a prevalent part of the advertising tactics of the media. In the particular ad that I have chosen are examples of gender stereotypes that I would like to analyze and discuss using Douglas Kellner's article "Advertising Images". Kellner states that the tobacco industry in both the past and present use subliminal messages with the intention of portraying lifestyles and choices to the American public. Cigarette ads in particular, Kellner argues, "contribute to identity formation in contemporary society" (188). In this analysis I will show that Kellner's ideas of identity formation are located throughout the Camel ad that I will analyze.

In a Camel cigarette ad from Rolling Stone Magazine is the classic Marilyn Monroe pose with a woman standing center stage as men fawn all over her with smiles and outstretched hands. The woman is dressed in a high-class, strapless evening gown as she smokes a cigarette using a holder so she doesn't blacken her gloves. She is blonde because "blondes always have more fun" and she has perfect hair, perfect teeth and a very flashy smile. The entire scene, a woman on a raised stage with men around, hands out stretched with tips, portrays the atmosphere to be that of a Strip Club or a Gentlemen's Club where she might be performing on stage. The spotlight is on her as she seductively moves in front of a blue, sparkle curtain. The men located at the bottom of the ad are also very well dressed in suits or tuxedos.

Good-looking gentlemen, they smile at the woman as they reach out to her with hands and trays of Camel's finest in three different varieties. They all seem to be enjoying the show and offering her their gifts of pleasure in the form of cigarettes in exchange for their pleasure of watching her. None of the men in the ad seem to be smoking. Kellner states that everything portrayed in the ad is a media ploy to "create an association between the products offered and socially desirable and meaningful traits" (189). The woman in the ad is being looked up to adoringly by several men; she is the spotlight, and steals all men's hearts. Therefore, the ad is stating, subliminally of course, that if women smoke Camel cigarettes, they too will have men showing them this kind of attention and adoration.

The fact that the woman is well-dressed and seemingly high society also adds to the desire of the "everyman" to attain "their very identity" (Kellner, 189) from the influences of this ad. What woman wouldn't want power, status, perfect features, and men falling at her every move? And, of course, this can all be attained simply by smoking Camel cigarettes. Similarly the men are also being shown "socially desirable and meaningful traits" (Kellner 189).

Men are being shown an existence where they could attain everything they so desire, a beautiful and sexy woman, a great job, as evidenced by their classy attire, and a happy lifestyle devoid of care and worry. These are definitely all characteristics that men strive to attain, and the ad is also promoting its product at the same time. There are two interpretations given of men in this ad. The first is that if men find a woman who smokes Camel cigarettes they will have everything they desire. The second is that if men purchase Camel for themselves, they can obtain everything.

In either interpretation the existence of Camel is involved but the follow-up action is up to the individual consumer as to whether he chooses to use the cigarettes or not. This particular Camel ad "depicts how something as seemingly innocuous as advertising can depict significant shifts in modes and models of identity" (Kellner 193) and how it can speak to a larger public about the values and goals of life as a larger attainment. The different marketing ploys in this ad are ingenious but if they were changed the overall message of the ad would be altered. For instance, if the woman currently at center stage were still placed in the center but the camera or drawing was in essence "backed-up" the woman would now be quite a distance away from the reader. In other words, she would be dwarfed in comparison to the stage and the men at the bottom of the stage. This would change the focus of the woman being the center of attention and now bring the focus to the men alone.

Making the ad, which once spoke to both genders with promise and idea, now speak mainly to the male audience. This shift would almost entirely alienate the female audience because they would no longer have the promises of a sexy, high status existence. Instead, they are shown a world where men dominate and they are a pawn in the game of enjoyment for a male upper-class society. This change would also shift the focus of the men enjoying the show of a beautiful woman to the mindset of a guy's night out. The idea would now be that the men enjoying themselves is the most important part of Camel cigarettes and that whatever else goes on in the "background" of their life isn't as important as their enjoyment. The men would be shown a world where they dominate and rule their very existence and can get anything and everything they desire.

They would no longer be offering the woman their gifts, but would instead be taking her gifts of entertainment. This would basically turn the scene into a Strip Club without the monetary tips. Another idea for changing the meaning of the ad by changing the ad itself would include dressing the woman in a shirt and jeans with a handkerchief on her head. This would take the whole idea of the woman being a glamorous person whom all men adore and crave and change it to the reality that she would become a housewife, or possibly even a stay-at-home mom.

This would not allow those women who already live those types of lifestyles to escape from their known existence into a world where men fall at their feet. In this instance the advertisers would lose their female audience almost entirely because no high-class woman would trade their posh lifestyle for a normal lifestyle and no suburban housewife would willingly lock herself into an eternity of the same day-to-day routine. On the other hand it could also give those women already in the lower class society something to strive for because the men would still be offering their gifts with genuine smiles and their promises of a better life. The men could go one of two ways on this change.

They could either ignore the ad altogether, because who would strive for an existence where the only thing attainable to them was a woman that they probably already have at home; or they would see it as the suburban housewife was the thing to be attained. She, now instead of the sexy blonde lounge singer, is the prize to be won. This would shift the entire idea of socially desirable and make a whole other set of ideas come into play. Overall, the tactics used in this ad are very typical of advertising in general. I agree with Kellner as he states it is the overall goal of "advertising campaigns... to incorporate such images to associate their products with the socially desired" (193).

The consumer however, needs to be aware of the tactics that are used so he / she can make an educated judgment on how the product being advertised will or will not affect his / her life. The advertising companies play on the fact that most consumers are oblivious to the fact that people can be subliminally influenced. Whether it is print ads, pictorial ads, radio, or television; we as consumers are bombarded with hundreds of different messages a day. It may be to buy the latest cereal bar because it will make your now hectic mornings run more smoothly, or to buy the latest Nike shoe because it will make him / her jump higher and run faster.

No matter what audience media ads speak to they all use the same type of thought process. The companies have products that they want to move to the consumer so why not make their product seem desirable and speak to their target audience by playing on everyone's sense of self-betterment. Who wouldn't want to become a better person, and if a product can do that, then why not invest in that product? Be advised wary consumers, advertising companies know you walk around in an oblivious state; they are waiting to pounce on your one moment of cognition when their ad catches your eye and they can pitch you the perfect life.