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  • Essay / The Power of Magazine Ads - 1071

    Jean Kilbourne, internationally renowned author, filmmaker, women's rights advocate and speaker, shares: “The average person is subjected to 3,000 ads every day…Ads sell more than the products. They sell values, images and concepts of love, sexuality, success and, most importantly, normalcy. They tell you who we are and who we should be. »(Kilbourne). Most people describe beauty as being tall, slim and naturally beautiful without makeup because this is prevalent in all major fashion magazines. Magazine ads attempt to sell products by overly sexualizing them. The standards set by these companies become unrealistic and unachievable, simply a fantasy for anyone who tries. Unfortunately, these companies are SO smart and powerful that they set the bar for what's hot and what's not. Fashion magazine advertisements embody and glorify women/models who are younger, thinner, and taller than the average woman today. The benchmark and criteria set are often unrealistic and unattainable, leading the average woman to failure and unhealthy habits. The level of beauty of young women and a woman's position in society are often governed by what fashion magazines dictate. Magazine publishers and advertisers use ingenious techniques such as the sexualization and objectification of women and products to sell products by manipulating the truth or minimizing facts through Photoshop, or subordinating the role of women by as submissive housewives. The power that magazines have is far reaching, and the impact is profound. Think about how magazines reach the general public. Consider the shelf life of a single issue; it is rather long, and a copy is cheap to buy, the affordability and life of the copy is the reason why the consumer continues...... middle of paper ..... : 209-14. Print.Heavin, Janese. “Study: Magazine Ads Make Women Feel Bad.” Columbia Daily Tribune (MO) (2007): Newspaper Source Plus. Internet. May 5, 2014. Kilbourne, Jean. Killing Us Softly 4: the image of women in advertising. Northampton, MA: Media Education Foundation, 2010 Sy, Stephanie. “Sign of the times.” Nightline (ABC) (2011): 1. Newspaper Source Plus. Internet. May 12, 2014. Tiggemann, Marika; Mcgill, Belinda. “The role of social comparison in the effect of magazine advertisements on women's mood and body dissatisfaction.” Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 23.1 (2004): 23-44. Premier Academic Research. Internet. May 5, 2014. Tiggemann, Marika; Polivy, Janet; Hargreaves, Duane. “The treatment of thin ideals in fashion magazines: a source of social comparison or fantasy?.” Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 28.1 (2009): 73-93. Premier Academic Research. Internet. May 5 2014.