Title: His Drink Versus Her Drink: Alcohol Companies Target Men and Women Differently
Thesis: Alcohol companies like Skyy both understand and exploit the different incentives behind drinking for women and men; they force him and her to see the fulfillment of their personal desires within the contents of a vodka bottle.
- Alcohol Consumption is fueled by social motivations for most people. However, these motivations are different for men then they are for women based on their personal desires.
- Why people party and drink
- ease social tension
- build confidence
- has been called “liquid courage” by some
- Women's motivations
- confidence
- capture the attention of others
- beauty
- however, they still want to be classy about it, appear sophisticated
- Men's motivations
- centered around attracting women
- appear powerful
- sophistication
- make them look good
- Alcohol Companies understand women and men, and target them differently based on these different stereotypes
- Target Women
- make images to make them appear as they want to appear
- fulfill desires
- Target Men
- show them what they want
- what they can get (ex. Women) from purchasing and consuming their alcohol
- fulfill typical stereotypes
- By doing this, alcohol companies like Skyy keep gender stereotypes alive.
- Stereotypes persist because public is fully exposed to them by the circulation of the advertisements
- may continue sexism and de-grading judgements in society and future
- Two Skyy Vodka advertisements are perfect examples of different methods to target different genders today.A. One is clearly aimed at womenI. Representation of beauty and confidenceii. Depicts woman in elegant dress and shoes stepping off a planeiii. Bright blue skyiv. She is stepping off with grace and elegancev. Makes audience want to be that womanvi. Hand holding out skyy vodka in beautiful blue bottle and elegant glassvii. Woman looks wealthy, appears to have class, being waited onB. Other clearly aimed at menI. He looks rich, wealthy, sophisticatedii. In a position of poweriii. Attractive Woman in front of him who obviously is interested, giving him her attentioniv. Implies sexualityv. city-lifevi. “If you drink this, you will get pretty, classy women and be powerful”C. Support for this given through analyzation of the advertisementsI. Different properties of visual arguments provide evidence of use of stereotypesii. Throughly suggest the company's goals and classify the advertisements
- Properties that advertisements apply include use of type of layout. In these particular advertisements, both are used similarly.A. Only 4 characters of type, but still effectiveB. The lack of type characterizes this adI. Wants audience to focus on the visualii. Allows eye to take in the entire posteriii. Picture, painting, vision/dreamC. type that is included still effectiveI. Example of sans serif fontii. Good for short displaysiii. Simple, but bold and memorableiv. Shows logo of the companyD. Layout used in similar why as typeI. Wants audience to focus on the visualii. Spread out, no blank spaceiii. Painting/mural almost likeV. Use of color adds to the goals of the advertisements, and work to move the audience's perceptionsA. lavishly used colors, signifies it is in fact a magazine adI. Contrasting to educational/informative/academic advertisementsii. Both ads utilize cool colors, appealing, soothingiii. Artistic, but realistic at same timeiv. Decorative and glamorized
B. Creates a memorable, relate-able image, but also unrealistic touches add sense of fantasy
VI. Graphics themselves are memorable and create the dream-realism balance that appeals to the audience.
A. Function of graphics
I. Illustrate point
ii. Invoke emotional response of longing from the audience
B. Relationship between text and graphic
I. Both people are combination between realism and fiction
ii. Conceptual
iii. Depicted from far away, no face is shown
iv. In both cases, allows audience to see themselves in their place
C. Orientation of images
I. Front view: emphasis on both subjects
ii. In the male targetted ad, shows female subject from side, suggesting sexuality
iii. However, distance is far enough away from subjects that it allows them to take in the
scene as well.
iv. Shows subjects from a low angle, emphasizing superiority and power
v. whole scene appears enlarged
D. Furnishings and Props
I. Suggest wealth, class, white upper class
ii. Women- white, blue, fancy drink appeal
iii. Men- dark, seductive, power, wealth
VII. Characters
A. Tells story
I. Women ad- classy wealthy women steps off plane going to dry desert thirst quenched by
skyy vodka
ii. Man- drinks vodka with woman in his fancy apartment, captures woman's interest, is
probably having good night
B. Subjects are models
I. Suggesting what you could have-lack of faces allows audience to put themselves in place
ii. Sexual appeal
iii. Real life representations, realistic, which as said touch of fantasy (combo)
C. Placement of characters
I. Woman ad- emphasis on her legs, suggests seductiveness and feminimity that can be
gained by drinking Skyy
ii. Man ad- first emphasis on woman, then turned to man, see the relationship between the
two
D. Presentation
I. Shown as a part of the scene
ii. Placed in the middle, background tends to be centered around “main characters”
VIII. Conclusion sentence: Through a thorough analysis of both Skyy Advertisements, the utilization of gender stereotypes is very clear in order to promote the product. Ambitious American men and women are being manipulated by their different values, and even their sexuality, in order to desire what alcohol companies have to offer. This maintains and encourages a sexual stereotypical society.
A. consumers: young american men and women who want attention/opposite gender's attention
B. claim: buy this alcohol, you will be young, attractive, and wealthy
C. target men and women differently, encouraging separation between the two and depicting stereotypes