Genders Through Advertising

Sports Car

I think this advert is targeted towards men as the dominant readers, as men tend to love sports cars more than women. The commercial focuses on the car making the audience not to take their eyes of the car as it shows the car being driven, making them tempted to buy the car. The print advert also focuses on the car only showing smoke coming out from the back tyres. In both adverts there are no women or men used therefore there is no stereotypes towards the product however the audience may assume oppositional readings attracted both genders. Also a class of A, B would buy this product as it is expensive and for a wealthier audience.

The advert could appeal to the women audience by adding feminine colours to the car and making the commercial have a main protagonist such as women driving the sports car making the audience think this car is for women too.

Diving Watch

Both these adverts are targeted at men, as in both adverts a male character is being represented which would appeal the male audience more. The Omega brand is very expensive company that sells watches therefore the target audience will be A, B and maybe C1 class as they would be wealthier than the rest of the classes. The adverts show watches that are appealing to men as the colours and shape of the watch symbolises it is for men than women. Moreover both adverts relate to a famous film to promote their product, they use the film ‘James Bond’ as there consumer target as it would attract more of the male audience because it is a film targeted towards male. 

Both adverts would have to change the colour to attract to the female audience as the colours are very simple and dark, I think there should be a female represented to how these watches are for women too.

Bottled Beer

This advert is about Fosters beer which is targeted towards men, I think this because men tend to have bottled beer more likely than women were they would have something more womanly. Beer is seen as more of a casual drink which men would have while watching football, or hanging around mates however the classier audience such as class A and B would have expensive drinks such as white/red wine. The print advert clearly states the drink is attended for men as it says ‘ I'm a playboy’ which is attended to women meaning the men get to have entertainment while drinking this beer.

Both these adverts are targeted at men, as in both adverts a male character is being represented which would appeal the male audience more. The Omega brand is very expensive company that sells watches therefore the target audience will be A, B and maybe C1 class as they would be wealthier than the rest of the classes. The adverts show watches that are appealing to men as the colours and shape of the watch symbolises it is for men than women. Moreover both adverts relate to a famous film to promote their product, they use the film ‘James Bond’ as there consumer target as it would attract more of the male audience because it is a film targeted towards male.

Both adverts would have to change the colour to attract to the female audience as the colours are very simple and dark, I think there should be a female represented to how these watches are for women too. I think to make this bottled beer advert more feminine is to change the stereotype towards men rather than women, showing women can be laid back too having fun by showing images of men.

Toilet Paper

I think this advert is targeted towards women as it has a tiny koala bear representing the toilet paper making the women audience attract to the brand as it is cute. Both adverts have the koala bears making the adverts more feminine making them attracted to buy the product making them assume it is soft like a bear. The representations of the adverts show the alternative readings of a woman such as for this advert they would be a typical house wife with children.

The adverts can be represented to men if they change the colours as it look to womanly with soft colours, also use a manlier object rather than a koala bear which would distract the male audience. 

Deodorant

These deodorant advert are targeted towards women I think as the commercial shows a women using the deodorant also the print adverts shows women using the product too, representing that women work harder than men. Women use deodorant frequently to smell fresh and to keep clean however some audience may think men are unhygienic and don’t use deodorant a much. 

I think the adverts should attract more to the male audience by featuring male characters using the product showing them the product is attracted to males however deodorant is used for both genders to keep fresh and clean.

Cigarettes

Both these adverts are aimed at men as the commercial identified as figures holding a cigarette however mentioned the health causes to a man if he would smoke daily giving them information about what smoking does to your health, therefore warning them. The print advert also targets the male audience as it informs them to get help from the NHS as it is crucial to be healthy and keep a fit body. Furthermore there is representation to both these adverts telling us that men smoke more than women which is an alternative reading towards males moreover this representation can be also read the other way round as a females being the main smokers. The print advert also has a another advert exactly the same however feature a women therefore spreading a message out to both genders about what smoking can do to you and informing us about how the NHS could help them.

I think the commercial advert could have appealed to the female audience if they added the causes of smoking of what it could do to a female’s health informing them too. Therefore the advert would have a wider audience and will not be stereotypical as it is appealing to both genders.

Hi-Fi System

I think both adverts are targeted to both genders as both would be interested in music and sound technology. However in some concepts it could be targeted towards men more than women as the male audience would have more interest in sound technology such as the bass in a system whereas a woman wouldn't care as long there is music playing out the system. The colours could also represent it is more attracted to the male audience as it is dark and simple.

For the adverts to fit in to a female appeal I think the colours should be changed.

Domestic Cleaning Product

These adverts are targeted toward women as it is a household cleaning product which is the alternative reading towards women. Women are represented as the dominants in a household as they tend to cook, clean and be responsible for their house, therefore they would buy cleaning products. The commercial show all females cleaning in a fun atmosphere making the female audience think that this product is very good and sending a good representation of the product itself. The media shows women as a house wife which is alternative as they represent women as busy home workers for their families. Moreover there were no males used in the adverts showing a representation that males don’t clean more than women do which is a stereotype towards women. 

The adverts can attract to the opposite gender by adding male characters cleaning like the women do and the commercial showing men can clean to making it an oppositional reading toward the audience.