Week 4 EOC: Women In Advertising

Traditional Ad

This 1960s ketchup bottle advertisement blankly represents the sexism that occurred in this time period. Displaying the common opinions men had of women. Women were seen as the housewives, that did the only the work they were supposed to in their homes and nothing else. Basically to only serve her husband and family. In this specific ad, they place an emphasis on how they saw women as weak, frail, simple-minded. So weak that women weren't able to even open a regular bottle of ketchup. Yet this particular product is different from all the others! This brand's ketchup bottle is less complicated and easier to open, that even a woman has the ability to open it! The actual graphic depicts a woman dressed in traditional fashion and hair, about to open the cap from the ketchup bottle with an astonished expression. Even she is giving the impression to other housewives of how great the product is.

Modern Ad

In this modern ad, the message is unfortunately the same. That this product is so simple to work that even a women has the ability to use it without a problem. That she can even turn on the DVD, a task that is easy in it by itself. The text in this ad isn' as blunt as the traditional ad, yet it has the same meaning overall. The main difference of course are the time period in which these advertisements were created in. As well as the products, are in different categories. Using tablet is more complicated than opening a ketchup bottle. It is really unnerving to see the similarities between the two ads, and then see the time period in which they were created. It gives the impression that the depiction if women in advertising hasn't evolved at all.

Sources:
http://www.businessinsider.com/these-modern-ads-are-even-more-sexist-than-their-mad-men-era-counterparts-2012-4?op=1