‘What pressures are put on people from viewing adverts?’

The media often put a lot of pressure on members of the public to feel, act or look a certain way. This is because they often create a perfect image or perfect lifestyle by which consumers feel they have to abide by. Members of the public see the images and messages created by advertisements as something they should achieve. Fowles (1996, p.156) supports one of my main arguments by highlighting that ‘the imagery in advertising is that of idealized human beings’. Beauty adverts often put pressure on men and women to look a certain way by presenting the people in their adverts as being perfect or the ideal way to look. Another way pressure is put on people is when advertising sells the idea of a perfect life or perfect family. This puts pressure on members of a family, especially the parents, to build up or portray their family to other people the way that they see is correct from these adverts. Moore (1985, p.65) states that ‘extreme ads are assumed to capture more attention than effectively neutral ads’ which suggests that adverts that make people feel pressure will do this more effectively as they will get more attention paid to them. People wear and use products that relate to how they want to be seen by the world. This creates pressure because people feel the need to buy luxurious products if they want to be seen in a positive way by society. This is especially relevant now that society seems to be very materialistic based and people want to be seen with nice possessions.
Women’s beauty advertisements online, on television and in magazines often put strains on women as they feel pressure to look a certain way after viewing these adverts. Fowles (1996, p.14) suggests that ‘Appearance is the key to success in advertising’. The advert needs to look appealing as well as the product. The models have to be seen as perfect in order to get people to buy a product to aspire or achieve something. Consumers see the models as their idealised definition of what beauty is. Beauty advertisements rarely use women who are seen to be bigger or plus size which creates pressure on the female audience as they think that this is what is expected of them and if they look different from the women on the adverts then they are ugly. Fowles (1996, p.153) supports my view as ‘normal or unattractive people are rare in advertising’. This could put pressure on women to either lose weight, change the way they dress, use different make up or even in extreme cases, have surgery in order to feel accepted. Lakoff and Scherr (1984, p.132) suggest that ‘attractive females are decreed more socially adept, understanding, achieving, enduring, and inquisitive’. By adverts using attractive females, consumers feel pressure to be like the models used in order to be accepted by society. For example, in InStyle magazine, there is an advertisement for Dior Addict lipsticks (figure 1) where a thin, beautiful women is used within the advert. This supports my view that only a certain type of women is used within ads. Companies do not want women associated with their brand that are not seen by society to be perfect. The Dior lipstick advert is a great example of this. Also, the caption ‘be iconic’ is used. This suggests to women that if they buy this lipstick then it will make a bold statement and they will become an icon. This puts pressure on women as this advert suggests that women should want to be an icon and the center of attention but without this lipstick, they will just carry on being who they are. The pressure of the advert is for the woman to buy this product and show that they are worth more which will look better within society. Another beauty related advert that has the affect on women to look a certain way and essentially please society is that of a Veet magazine advertisement shown in figure 2. The image of a beautiful, slim women in a dress and heels is shown with jeans flying in the background. The caption ‘TROUSERS ARE DEAD. MAKE EVERY DAY A SKIRT DAY’ shows that the advert is making women think that trousers are not acceptable for women to wear, thus putting pressure on them to wear skirts and other garments that show their legs. There is also a deeper meaning in that the advert is telling the female population that having legs free from hair is what is seen as sexy and what they should do. It could be perceived that the caption ‘So less days covering up re-growth’ is trying to tell women that if you have hair on your legs then you should cover them up. This puts pressure on women to conform to what they are being told by such advertisements as they want to be seen as sexy and beautiful like the women that appear in the advertisements. The slogan ‘What beauty feels like’ is also pressurising as this suggests that beauty is being defined by what the advert is telling you. Without abiding by the advertisement, you can not be beautiful. Fowles (1996, p14) illustrates that ‘Models in advertising are... likely to be flawless’. This is because companies want their brand associated with good looking people and by using ‘flawless’ models, this will put more pressure on consumers to look this way themselves. Part of being beautiful is seen to be thin and all of the adverts mentioned use thin women which relates to an on going issue in society. However, Special K adverts go further than just portraying that being thin is socially acceptable and actually put pressure on their viewers to lose weight. In this particular advert, the woman is wearing a dress and it seems that she can not wear a swimming costume to the beach until she has got slimmer. This puts pressure on women as slimming with Special K adverts usually appear just before the summer months when people are more likely to wear swimming attire. These adverts are saying that women need to lose weight in order to look good in less clothing. This is a massive pressure as women will feel that they do not look acceptable to society. By showing beautiful women and portraying these as perfect, this puts a large amount of pressure on the female public, especially teenagers. These images will dent their self esteem and put more pressure on them to become what is seen as more acceptable. Adverts with celebrities often put pressure on viewers. This is because the lifestyle of celebrities is seen as perfect as well as their looks. By using celebrities in adverts, the public are pressured into buying a product if they want to look a certain way or have a lifestyle similar to that portrayed. By using a familiar face, this also pressures people to buy the product as they think if a celebrity is using it, it must be a good product to buy. For example, L’Oreal hair adverts use the very popular icon, Cheryl Cole. She is seen as an important role model within society so viewers will see that she uses their product and associate this with how good she looks. This will urge people to consume their product in order to look that good.

Furthermore, L’Oreal adverts, especially for their hair products, pressure their audiences in more ways than just using a celebrity. The use of the slogan ‘You’re worth it’ is a technique they use. This slogan puts pressure on audiences to buy and use their products as it is portrayed that if you do not try their products, you are not worth ‘it’. Brands such as L’Oreal use slogans to put pressure on consumers rather than just using the visual technique. By using a slogan, especially one that is directly talking to ‘you’, puts pressure on people for brand loyalty. Women always feel conscious and that they have to look their best. This involves having nice hair and make up but also good enough breasts. The brand Wonderbra have historically made controversial advertisements that put a lot of pressure on women to look a certain way. Not just to have large breasts and sexy underwear but also to look as good as their models for males. However, even in today’s society Wonderbra are still putting pressure on women. This is by portraying that they need to look beautiful and have large breasts in order to be socially acceptable and gain friends. This is shown in one of their adverts (Figure 3) where they imply that because a woman is beautiful and wearing a Wonderbra in her Facebook profile photo, that they got thousands of Facebook friend requests. This puts pressure on women by implying that if they want to be a significant part of society then they need to show their breasts or be seen to have large breasts. It is not just women who feel pressure from beauty adverts, it is also men as well. From viewing adverts, they feel that they have to be toned and masculine in order to be perceived in the way they want to be. Adverts for brands such as Lynx have similar affects of pressure as the female adverts. Lynx portray the men in their adverts as very masculine and good looking. In some Lynx advertisements, they use women as well as men. This is because they show men having women around them after using their product. This will put pressure on men to look this way because not only will they look and feel good, but they will also be more attractive to women. It could be argued that some of these adverts also affect females as they will feel the need to look like women in the adverts in order to keep their men interested in them; They feel pressure to look good and to please their man. An example of this is the advert where a male is seen to be spraying a Lynx product and women are swimming and running to get to him, as portrayed in Figure 4. This implies that a man needs to use Lynx and should be getting women after him. This is a common pressure within society that companies adverts utilise. The caption ‘Spray more get more’ is pressuring men into using the product as it implies that you will get more women or more sex if you use this product. Another pressure of adverts such as this one is that there is pressure on men to be straight. I personally have never seen an advertisement for a male beauty product where there have been gay men portrayed. This is putting pressure on men by showing that the only way to be is straight and that if they are not like the people in the adverts then they are not part of what society should be. People feel pressure from such advertisements to be seen as a valid part of society. The brands probably do not want to be associated as a gay brand so use the idea of a heterosexual relationship but this does however put pressure on the viewers as being straight is portrayed through the adverts as normal. This links to adverts showing very masculine men. The adverts conform to the perfect idea of human beings but do not actually reflect reality within society. This constantly creates pressure on viewers but this does not stop companies doing this. Essentially, adverts that I have spoken about so far such as L’Oreal and Lynx sell a lifestyle to the public who then, as a result, feel pressure to live up to this image. Advertisements for charities such as those of Oxfam, Save the Children and Cancer Research often put pressure on the public. This is because they play with the public’s emotions which thus puts pressure on them to donate to these charities. This creates a massive emotional pressure but also puts financial pressure on people as a result if they donate. Adverts such as that of Save the Children use children in their adverts and make the advert personal to the viewer. This is to further play on the emotions of the public and pressure them because they are likely to feel an emotional connection with a child, especially when they are being addressed directly. Children are seen as more vulnerable so adults feel more inclined to help when they are involved and parents can also relate if they have children. The language used in adverts, especially charity can put pressure on people along with the visuals that are being seen. The voiceover says ‘A sick and hungry child, needs you right now, simply to stay alive’ in the Save the Children advert which illustrates the pressure of the advert directly talking to a person saying that without their money, a child will die. Christmas advertisements for products put a pressure on parents to buy their children presents. There are a lot of toy adverts all year round, but especially at Christmas time. Children see these adverts and talk amongst their friends about the latest toys. These adverts encourage children to want presents which as a result puts pressure on parents to buy them and give their child enough presents to fit in with the rest of their friends. This also creates a strain on the family as they are under pressure to buy these products even if it will result in financial pressure after. Adverts such as Hot Wheels pull children in and make them want products. A recent advert invites the viewers to buy their product so they can join a special team and learn how to drive like a professional. This make children want to buy the product which subsequently puts pressure on the parents. Koehler, Crites and Behal (n.d., p.1) ‘Many of the things that children request are things they want because of high-pressure advertising on TV’ which supports my view that children want products they see advertised and by these adverts being high pressure themselves, this puts a lot of pressure on the parents as children are quite demanding. Academic pressure can be put on people from viewing advertisements. Young people who see this will feel under pressure to go to university as it is forced upon them that this is what they should do. This also puts pressure on parents to send their children to university if they want them to become a success and achieve what they want in life. University adverts put pressure on people as they imply that people should go to university. Figure 5 is an advert for a university that says ‘Become what you want to be’ which pressures people as it says that unless you go to university, you can no become what you want to be. By including different job titles in the background, this will put pressure on people to think they need to have a well paid, successful career in one of these fields. Such adverts put a lifestyle pressure on consumers as they pressure them to live their life a certain way. Male enhancement product adverts create massive pressure on men to have a big penis. This is because adverts are always around for having a larger penis and performing longer. This puts pressure on men as they feel like they have to perform well and in order to do this and please their women, they need a bigger penis. Adverts like Figure 6 pressure men as it portrays the idea that a bigger penis is what you need and this is what your partner will want. It says ‘Improve your’s and you partner’s sex life with penis-health!’ which implies that a male should get this treatment not only for himself, but for his partner. This will thus make the male think it will improve their relationship. This puts added pressure on as it implies a male’s partner wants them to have a bigger penis and will enjoy sex more. By showing a sexy, toned man, this will create more pressure as males will aspire to be this so will feel under pressure to carry this treatment out in order to be more like the male shown in the advert. There is always pressure being put on females to look thin for themselves, but also for males. Many adverts include thin models as this is seen as the best way to look. However, in adverts such as those with Megan Fox for Armani she is seen to be a very small size (Figure 6) and with a handsome man which creates excessive pressure on viewers. Armani is a high end brand so within their advertising, they are looking to target wealthier people. This is putting pressure on people that have the money to change how they look or feel to be like the person in an advert. People feel pressure to look as good as Megan Fox by being as thin as her and spending money on their products to look as good as her. By including a good looking male, this puts pressure on women as it portrays a message that such men will only be interested in you if you try to look this good. By using thin models, this puts a high amount of pressure on teenage girls. Society in general is putting pressure on them to be thin and good looking in order to be accepted, without the need for adverts such as this putting added pressure on them. This has resulted in the loss of individuality within society as illustrated by Goldman (1992, p.8) ‘advertising screws us up as individual personalities’. Teenagers already feel under pressure to look a certain way due to society, but with the added pressure from adverts telling them it is not acceptable to have any spots, this is going to make them feel a lot of pressure. Adverts such as this certain Clearasil advert imply that spots are not acceptable within society as there are solutions to get rid of these. Malefyt ( p.139) suggests that ‘the world of advertising must be treated as a social process, not a product’ which shows that the adverts are essentially selling social status. This is pressuring for teenagers as they will feel under pressure to not only cover up their spots but also to try out the products advertised. By using flawless models for the ‘after’ treatment, this also pressures teenagers into thinking that they can only look attractive without spots. This particular advert creates a pressure to have clear skin as it implies this will help you look attractive to women due to the shot at the end. ‘The science of looking awesome’ is shown on screen and spoken which suggests that without this product, you will not look awesome. Nixon (2003, p.80) says that ‘The job [of advertising] is really problem solving’ which shows that advertising is there to put pressure on people to solve their problems. However, these problems may not have been that significant before but by viewing adverts such as those for spot solutions, this is not only putting pressure on people but also making the problem. There is pressure in todays materialistic society to have expensive possessions and people often judge each other by these. Adverts often market their products as being new, technologically advanced, must have items. An example of this is Apple’s adverts for their products. A slogan they often use is ‘if you don’t have an iPhone’ and then another caption. This puts pressure on people as they are implying if you do not have an iPhone then you will not be seen as cool or good enough within society. This particular advert puts pressure on parents to get an iPhone because Apple use children as an incentive. It is said that a children’s holiday experience can be helped by getting an iPhone. Parents want to give their children the best so this puts pressure on them to buy an iPhone if they want to provide the best holiday experience for their children. Adverts create pressure for family roles to be followed in a way that is seen acceptable. Supermarket adverts such as those for Iceland often create pressure due to the way they portray these roles. In the example of an Iceland advert, this would put pressure on women because after viewing it, they will feel the need to show they are the perfect housewife too. In the advert, the women have the knowledge of the food which portrays they bought it and they are also shown serving it to the male. Women will feel pressure to carry out this role within their own family in order to recreate the perfect family image. The caption ‘That’s why mums go to Iceland’ also puts pressure on women to fulfill this role as this implies that the women are meant to fulfill their role in regards to food shopping. These adverts themselves buy into the traditional housewife structure but also pressure consumers into this. This will thus create pressure on women to be the perfect house wife who carries out duties that are shown to be hers by such adverts. A common trend within my findings were the use of gender identity within the adverts which created the pressure. This is particularly evident in beauty advertising as these adverts often show what is seen to be perfection and the images and words used create pressure on consumers to conform to what the advert is portraying. Beauty adverts in general pressure people into following this perfect image. This is evident through the examples I used and this shows that it is men and well as women who feel pressure to look good for the opposite sex. Advertising items which present idealised lifestyles or the ‘perfect image’ subsequently pressurise people to buy the products. This is also by the use of familiar faces as it allows them to emotionally relate to an advert. Malefyt and Moeran (2003, p.2) have summed up advertising by stating that ‘advertising attempts to sell goods, by appealing to consumers through gender identity, celebrity endorsement, romantic imagery, notions of achieving happiness or contentment’ which supports my views. In a blog article by hubberonetwothree he states that ‘society and media set the standard of what a beautiful woman should look like through advertising’ which he later goes on to talk about creates pressure on women to be seen as the perfect perception.
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