Media and Cultural Analysis Gender - Essay Example

Media & Cultural Analysis Gender, Representation and Advertising Images Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Theoretical Understanding of Media Forms and Genres 4 Strengths and Weaknesses of Semiotics 7 Conclusion 9 References 10 11 11 Introduction Products are being marketed through communications and segmentation of the market which have affected the promotional activities. Advertisements are designed keeping in mind the gender segmentation done while launching a product. Majority of the advertisement campaigns appeal to the gender differences which play an important role as to how these campaigns will react to either the masculinity or femininity. It has been noted that males are generally attracted to advertisements that are related with fast cars or fancy cigars or costly liquors, whereas females are attracted to advertisements that deal with decorating houses and make up kits among others. Therefore, the ad-makers before designing an advertisement campaign thoroughly judge the targeted gender and develop the advertisement accordingly. Thus, the objective of the paper would be to discuss the aspect that gender is performative while designing advertisements. Furthermore, the techniques used by the media firms and their way of organising the socio-cultural elements will be demonstrated. Moreover, the strengths and the weaknesses of semiotics used to convey message through visual meanings will also be critically analysed. Semiotics is the signs that are used to convey messages to the viewers. Advertisements play an imperative role in promotional activities. Therefore, the two examples of print media that will be discussed below will show how it appeals to the different genders. Theoretical Understanding of Media Forms and Genres According to Kress (1998), genre is a kind of text that is derived from a structure of a social occasion and characteristics and their purposes. It can further be said that genre may be considered as a realistic device which is used to help any gathering to produce efficiently and over and over again and to relate them to the customers’ expectations (Chandler, 2000). This aspect can be interpreted from an example of advertising image below: Source: (Mike’s Computer Marketing, 2004). From the image above, it can be interpreted that as the genre used in the advertisement of Jupiter Auto Spa, which depicts the unique offerings and discounts, may attract the male more than the female. Free car wash and other discounts will make the male feel that they are getting added value for the price they are paying. Moreover, the free service of pickup and delivery of the car will play on the mind of the male that will be a convenient factor (Mike’s Computer Marketing, 2004). The male genders usually are busy in working due to which the care towards their vehicle is being neglected. Thus, the added facility may encourage the male as their time is not spent uselessly whereas the desired task is done effectively. This print advertisement is expected to attract less to the women as they are more concerned about products that take care of their physical beauty and fitness. The discounts and the offerings will somewhat be attractive to women who have craze towards cars. As stated by Judith Butler (1995), desires are often intentional which are towards a given object or other, but at the same time it is also reflexive where it is a modality in which the subject is both improved and discovered. Thus, desire is the relationship between the image and the viewer, between object of desire and desiring matter, between product and customer. Therefore, in the above mentioned print advertisement the desire of the female genders towards the product is comparatively low than the male ones (Butler, 2011). Though the product is a part of luxury category, the added value and convenience offered to the customers will help the male genders to get attracted towards the service of Jupiter Auto Spa. According to Dines and Humez (2003), “textual analysis should utilize a multiplicity of perceptiveness, critical methods and audience reception studies should delineate the wide range of subject positions or perspectives, through which audiences’ appropriate culture”. Thus, it can be stated that textual inputs in print media will help to reduce the multiple perspectives from the audiences and hence interpret the appropriate culture associated with the print advertisement. Source: (WebMediaBrands Inc., 2012). The other example of advertising image is related to ‘Colgate Max White One’. As in the case of ‘Colgate Max White One’, where, a smiling mouth of a woman is incorporated upon a man’s face. The print advertisement is without any textual inputs and that is why a lot of perspectives can be drawn from the advertisement. The semiotics has been used effectively in the print advertisement that may make the viewers think that the use of Colgate product will ensure that men too can have a smiling face similar to a women’s smile. This advertisement is likely to attract the women customers as they are more concerned about their physical beauty and usually confuse themselves when an advertisement without textual inputs are designed (WebMediaBrands Inc., 2012). Masculine masses are likely to be less attracted towards the Colgate product as dental care and beauty is associated with the print commercial which is least attractive to the male genders. It is a general product to them which does not provide added value for the same product prices. Generally, beauty products tend to be less attractive for the male genders. Moreover, the lack of textual inputs will hardly interest the males who have less time to uselessly spend. They are more attracted towards products that provide clear informations regarding the additional value associated with the product. Strengths and Weaknesses of Semiotics Semiotics can be attractive if designed properly. Therefore, print advertisements that mostly deal with images need to develop their semiotics and design in a way that conveys a clear message to the viewers. In this context, the Colgate print advertisement lacked the clarity of conveying message to the viewers. The image can be misinterpreted and various messages can be formed. Thus, the print advertisement of Colgate needs to develop the image in order to attract more male genders along with the female ones. The weaknesses of semiotics are that they are complex in nature rather than independent controls that include wide range of studies, which somehow makes it formless. Therefore, in general, there are lot of perceptions associated with an advertisement that is based in semiotics which are either positive or negative. Thus, it is essential to have a clear communication through semiotics so that a negative perspective does not hamper the attractiveness of the print advertisement (Adedimeji, n.d.). Conclusion From the above discussions, it is understood that gender differences play an important role while deciding the print advertisements. It has also been proved by use of various literatures that masculinity and femininity are two of the factors that are required to be kept into consideration before judging the successfulness of the print advertisements. Moreover, cultural aspects are also attached with print advertisements that evaluate the social aspects of the product. Another key aspect used in print commercials is the semiotics. As a few of the print commercials do not include textual inputs in their advertisement campaigns, it is very important for the ad- designer to maintain that the semiotics conveys exactly the particular message that the product wishes to convey. In addition, it should convey a positive message to the viewers so that the customers get attracted towards the product. Genres and media forms should also be considered while making a print advertisement that will be able to influence all the genders simultaneously. The text used in the print commercial should be appealing to the mass population so that both the genders get attracted. It should provide information that will be beneficial to the males as well as the females. If the text influences both the genders then the chances of attracting increases. References Adedimeji, M. A., No Date. Semiotics: The Science of Signs. Publications. [Online] Available at: http://www.unilorin.edu.ng/publications/ADEDIMEJI/SEMIOTICS%20%20THE%20SCIENCE%20OF%20SIGNS%20%20now.htm [Accessed May 29, 2012]. Butler, J., 2011. Bodies That Matter. Taylor & Francis Chandler, D., 2000. An Introduction to Genre Theory. Documents. [Online] Available at: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/intgenre/intgenre1.html [Accessed May 29, 2012]. Dines, G. & Humez, J. M., 2003. Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Text-Reader. SAGE Kress, G. R., 1998. Communication and Culture: An Introduction. UNSW Press. Mike’s Computer Marketing, 2004. Examples. Newspapers. [Online] Available at: http://www.mikesadvertising.com/examples/newspapers/jpg-files/jas-7.jpg [Accessed May 29, 2012]. WebMediaBrands Inc., 2012. Colgate Max White One: Guy. Print. [Online] Available at: http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/colgate_max_white_one_guy?size=_original [Accessed May 29, 2012]. Read More