KILLING ME SOFTLY: IMAGES OF WOMEN IN ADVERTISING
In this new, highly anticipated update of her pioneering Killing Us Softly series, the first in more than a decade, Jean Kilbourne takes a fresh look at how advertising traffics in distorted and destructive ideals of femininity. The film marshals a range of new print and television advertisements to lay bare a stunning pattern of damaging gender stereotypes -- images and messages that too often reinforce unrealistic, and unhealthy, perceptions of beauty, perfection, and sexuality. By bringing Kilbourne's groundbreaking analysis up to date, Killing Us Softly 4 stands to challenge a new generation of students to take advertising seriously, and to think critically about popular culture and its relationship to sexism, eating disorders, and gender violence. Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D. is internationally recognized for her groundbreaking work on the image of women in advertising. [Read More]published May 11, 2011 at 3:12pm CDT
NOTICE SOMETHING ABOUT THE GUYS IN ADS LATELY?
According to a study done by NBC Universal, there's a new trend in advertising that is proving very effective at capturing the female consumer. According to the January data from Women at NBCU’s Brand Power Index, brands that embraced the “softer” side of men in their marketing campaigns generated significantly more buzz among women. Now that's interesting - it's something I hadn't even thought about, but after I read the NBC Universal press release, it made a whole lot of sense. Men in modern advertisements are definitely "Mr. Right" - sensitive, family-centric, and the polar opposite of the 'alpha male' we've seen in ads as recently as five years ago. It's a big shift, and it happened mostly without my notice! Head past the jump for my take, and some stats. Now, here's a nitpick. NBCU calls this trend "gender bender marketing" - a moniker I'm not really fond of. Come on guys - is portraying men as sensitive, family focused, and well, nice - equivalent to port [Read More]published March 21, 2011 at 1:56pm CDT
THE SOCIAL MEDIA LANDSCAPE AND SEO
Did you know that your Facebook and Twitter pages can improve your organic search results? Or that Digg is proving to be a valuable tool for traffic generation? Both are true, according to CMO.com's Social Media Landscape for 2011. Ask Patty loves Social Media. We're on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn, and now, Tumblr too - and we know that many of our readers and clients are using Social Media for their businesses. This helpful pdf from CMO illustrates just where today's hottest social networks are succeeding, and where they're not-so-great and#40;for instance, if you were thinking of using Reddit to build your brand, forget it. The Reddit community doesn't like thatand#41;. Maybe it'll change your social media strategy - or augment it a bit. Head past the jump for more. For our part, Ask Patty has a Tumbr for the first time now, which will be helping us to syndicate this blog's feed, among other things - and we're certainly taking a serious look at Digg to see how w [Read More]published March 16, 2011 at 12:02am CDT
AUDI SAYS "GOODNIGHT MOON" DURING THE SUPER BOWL
Most of us watch the Super Bowl for the commercials as much as for the game, if not more so. This year, Audi's new add titled "Goodnight" will be one of the more memorable ones from the evening. The spot will follow a storyline pretty familiar to us all - the plot of the acclaimed children's book Goodnight Moon, while taking the viewer on a journey through a traditional-style mansion laden with expensive knick-knacks and extravagant, indulgent keepsakes. The spot says goodnight to each item in the lavish home, in effect bidding a fond farewell to the age of "old luxury," defined by gluttony and excess, and features the all-new 2011 Audi A8 flagship sedan along with the slogan, "Luxury has progressed." I look forward to seeing it - it certainly sounds like it'll have quite a bit of impact. I'll post the spot here on the AP blog once it's made its debut with reaction and discussion, so look for that post on Monday! Kaeli Gardner AskPatty.com, Inc. Connect with Us [Read More]published February 7, 2011 at 8:20pm CST
SELLING WOMEN’S SPORTS: BUILD A COMMUNITY, AND GO LOCAL
I recently read an interesting article about women’s sports in a late October issue of SportsBusiness Journal. I felt the need to give my thoughts on the subject, especially as they relate to building and activating a community and combining that strategy with the essence of localism in women’s sports. These are things I’ve been preaching to folks for the past two years, but it’s refreshing to see it pull through in SBJ. The article is called, “When selling women’s sports, know your fans and your city.” First, I think the article is spot-on when saying consumer engagement, i.e., creating an actual consumer interaction with a brand and#40;vs. flat sponsorshipand#41; is key in activating the female space. I can’t emphasize this enough. Don’t just purchase signs. Sure you want to be visible, but do something else that really creates word of mouth and extends beyond the meek numbers in the stadium. Start to think deeper – understand the bigger picture. Building a commu [Read More]published November 9, 2010 at 5:35pm CST
ESPNW: FINALLY, A BRAND FOR FEMALE ATHLETES
ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports, recently announced a bubbling business from within called espnW, a brand completely driven for and by sports-minded women. Now, before you jump to conclusions based upon the espnW name, I simply ask that you first hear me out – because it’s critical to understand exactly why this new business is necessary for the success of female athletes. This weekend, ESPN unveiled their new “w” brand at a retreat in San Diego, California. It took place in front of some of the biggest movers and shakers in women’s sports, including famous female athletes, coaches, journalists and sports marketing executives. At the event, not only did I have the chance to meet and talk to some of the women and men that I respect most in this world, but I also had the chance to share some of my opinions about what needs to happen to make the espnW business work. First, some context… Since the passage of Title I [Read More]published October 4, 2010 at 2:21pm CDT
THE COMMODIFICATION OF FEMALE EMPOWERMENT
Have daughters supplanted sons as the repository of hope in tough economic times? New York Times contributor Peggy Orenstein has noticed a trend across a whole range of sectors over the last several months from big-box stores to high-end fashion to wireless-phone services to politics: all have discovered the sales potential in female pride. It’s well established that three women now receive bachelor’s and master’s degrees for every two men, but in 2009, for the first time, they earned more doctorates as well. Meanwhile, three-quarters of the jobs lost in the current recession were held by men and#40;who were more likely to be in hard-hit industries and let's face it were probably taking home more money than their female counterpartsand#41;. Women have not only become and#40;again for the first timeand#41; the majority of the work force, but they also hold the lioness’s share of managerial jobs and are the primary breadwinners in more than a quarter of dual-income families. Meryl Str [Read More]published September 27, 2010 at 10:53am CDT
AD’S A FAKE, BUT LET’S GET REAL ABOUT BUTTS. STRONG IS BIG (AND BEAUTIFUL).
By Sarah Odell I was an odd mix of girly girl and tomboy growing up. I only wore dresses that twirled, and a perfect Friday afternoon left me covered in dirt, running around a field hockey pitch in cleats and shin guards. There were no showers near the fields, so my parents took me out to dinner covered in sweat and grime. Yes, I played with Barbies and flipped through the pages of Vogue, just dreaming of a day when I would wear the outfits in that magazine. But one little thing separated me from the women I admired and the dolls I played with. Well, it actually isn’t little. It’s pretty big. That, of course, is my butt. I also have large thighs, which my grandmother referred to as “polkas” when I was an infant. Pants were always a battle—it seemed impossible to find a pair that fit, let alone that appeared flattering. I watched women on the street with their tiny bottoms and carved thighs — and I was envious. Envious, that is, until I started getting serious about my s [Read More]published September 9, 2010 at 5:39pm CDT
HUFF POST SHAMES WOMEN THAT ARE NOT 118 LBS- "FAT" "OUT OF CONTROL"
Fantastic, I love reading headlines that shame women that aren't "skinny". In a feature profile of Jackie Warner, the Jillian Michaels wannabe that hosts Bravo's Thintervention, the 42 year old admits to being "overweight in college". She called her self, "Miserable and out of control" , becuase she had ballooned to 169 pounds. 169 pounds. That's it. I have no idea how tall Warner is or what her current or former BMI or body fat percentage is, however no matter what, one hundred and sixty nine pounds is not a bad thing. In fact, it is pretty close to the average weight of women in the US. I don't think mainstream media outlets should be shaming the average women in this country and using words to describe a person that is not 118 pounds like , "miserable", "lazy", and "out of control". When written and talked about in that light, it makes every woman that isn't super skinny, naturally or otherwise, seem less than worthy of attention and it dehumanizes them. The show on Bravo is [Read More]published September 9, 2010 at 4:35pm CDT
BLEACHERREPORT LIST: MOST BOOTYLICIOUS FEMALE ATHLETES
I am not kidding, a picture-list of female athletes' asses. If ever there were reason to type "SMH", now is definitely the time. Here we go, people. The time has finally arrived for one of the most talked about slideshows in the history of this website ..... I mean, it is a list dedicated to the female athletes with the greatest behind. Those female athletes who are just plain bootylicious. This slideshow compilation is no different than NIKE's booty campaigns , and the fact that they are reducing these women - who are of course already beautiful- to a literal piece of ass, is disgusting. These female athletes are just as focused, fit, capable and able in their respective sport as men, yet they're triumphed not for their physical acumen on the field/court/grass. No, they are important and talked about because they posses a sexually pleasing ass. SMH LaPrincipessa | Twitter | Email [Read More]published August 18, 2010 at 2:28pm CDT