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While walking last night at the mall, my friend and I came upon a picture at MAC Cosmetics that was a bit risque for a mall. This happens all the time these days. I am embarrassed to walk past our Victoria's Secret store. I would not want to have a young daughter these days and have to explain to her why there is a store in an upscale mall that caters to strippers. (Instead, my daughter drags me in there so she can shop, and I ask her to get me the thongs with the feathers on the butt for my birthday.) The MAC picture shows a woman with perky breasts, a little of her hair falling sort of over where the nipples were maybe airbrushed out, and way too much make up.
My friend made a comment about the picture being inappropriate in a family mall. I can't disagree. What do bare breasts have to do with makeup? She wanted to know who was being targeted with the picture. I said women. She said men, that men see the picture and will let their women shop there.
That isn't the odd thought, though. Sex is used to sell everything. People sometimes forget the products because they are focused on the sex.
The odd thought, is "Why do stores that cater to females use half-naked women to lure them in?" So do the men's stores. Think about it.
It's common in the journals for women to put up cute little tags. I have noticed that most tags that women put up are drawings of sexy women. I just don't get it. If I were going to put up little tags, they would be of attractive males, or maybe dogs and cats. If I want to see a naked woman, I have mirrors. I cango in ladies' gym lockers. I don't need the peek-a-boo pictures of women. What is wrong with me?
As we walked past another store, I think Armani, there was one extremely attractive young male putting up a new display. Out of hearing of anyone else (since the mall was closing and no one was around) I made a joke about wanting to take him home just so I could look at him. My friend said she knew I would want to do more than look. I said I didn't think I had the right parts to interest the guy, so looking would be just fine. He was a work of art. There is a separation in my mind between lust and art, but sometimes it blurs a little. That one, though, he was nice to watch.
I was appalled once by a poster in a window in another mall that showed a girl of age 9 or 10 - with no bra on under a thin top, and erect nipples showing. I thought that was over the top and considered complaining to the company about catering to pedophiles. I was not entirely surprised that I never saw that poster again. They could have cut the picture above her nipples - it was a cute picture, otherwise. Gratuitous sex featuring children is just not OK with me. (I would name the store, but I am not positive which it was and don't want to malign the wrong company. I can ask my friend; she still has a memory.)
I know studies have been done and sexy pictures have been shown to men and women. Both men and women are more aroused, in general, by the female form.
Nevertheless, my response to my friend was, "Well, I think women must believe that if they use MAC make up, they will suddenly have breasts like that."
Marketing will never cease to amaze me.
9 comments:
It is my belief that those displays are meant target women, to indirectly target men. First, women will start to believe that they are not good enough to attract a man, and will eventually attmept to make themselves better, and doing so by what4ver means necessary. And then, men will expect that this type of advertising means they have "settled for" a woman perceived to not be "up to par" in comparision to the women they see everyday, everywhere they look (television, movies, advertisements), and should be awaiting the arrival of one of these women into their lives (some already believe this). Shoot, they don't even have to hide their lust for the women featured in the "dirty magazines" of days gone by; we are giving them permision to freely cater to their lust by surrounding them, as well as our children, with what used to be considered "dirty" photos in our malls and other public places. All of which are now the norm. now the norm. And we wonder why sex crimes are so prevelant in our society? I guess I sound a bit scattered, but this is an issue I think about all the time...Jae
Marketing in general makes me ill. Kids today are presented clothes that only a striper should wear. It's nearly impossible to look in the teen section and find shorts that don't look like Daisy Dukes. I don't cave to my kid, but I see junior high girls with skirts up to their butt cracks. As a matter of fact my Barbie comment to the junior high girl should have been that she looked like a hooker, but then I probably would have gotten in more trouble than I did. Why are we so obsessed with looks when most of the population looks nothing like these air brushed models. Is it wishful thinking???? God knows most of us do not look like them or would want to. Well maybe the perky breasts, gravity has sent my barely B's south lol! ~Rose~
I couldn't agree with you more although I guess I've just become accustomed to it and just don't pay much attention anymore - or maybe it's the fact that I see Wally World a lot more often than I see the mall. I have noticed the sexy female graphics some women put on their journals, that one has always confused me! Stores are using it for marketing but personal journals? Strange.
Maybe Remo will explain it all to us, LOL!
Martha :-)
I agree.
I dunno, Susan.... you have very valid points. I think marketing gurus have done alot to make women think they "need" or "should" look a certain way... wear certain clothes.... look a certain way..... etc etc... huge bit of brainwashing to sell products... However therein lies the rub... I DO enjoy seeing a beautiful woman wearing something sexy (fine line between sexy and sluty?) Having said that, I really feel the beauty eminates from how SHE feels about herself wearing the new outfit/hairstyle/shoes, etc... not how the product itself makes her look in a man's eyes. I digress. Sorry to hear you didn't get the younger guy's number at the mall.... I'm about 41 now and not going to make a firefighter calendar anytime soon myself... so if you know of any twenty-something knockouts in the mall that want a broke sugar-daddy.. give em my phone number.. Deal?
Been to Vegas lately and seen the huge billboards with showgirl arse flashing about two stories high? Europe has bare breasts. I never had a problem with the Calvin Klein boys in their briefs. But then you get into the whole thing about lots of male models being gay. So were those billboards and ads for men -- gay men -- or female partners of the guys to go out and purchase? We may never know. Mrs. L
What's to figure out? Guys like hot chicks, nekkid or not. Women like to THINK they are hot chicks, whether they are nekkid or not. The stores want to sell stuff to the women who want to think they are hot so their men won't spend so much time looking at women who ARE hot, which pissed them off and sends them to the half-gallon of Rocky Road to drown their insecurities, which were fostered by the same companies trying to sell them stuff in the first place.
Geesh.
P.T. Barnum was half-right. There's a woman born every minute.
Geesh, Remo. Men like nekkid women, hot or not. I just don't see advertising nekkid women to attract women to buy stuff. I can see for lesbians, but the majority of women are theoretically attracted to men.
Bottom line, no pun intended - where do women shop to see half nekkid men? It's not fair!
I think a lot of that marketing is really designed to make a woman question herself and her attractiveness. I don't think we BELIEVE those products will make us beautiful, but we hope beyond hope that just maybe it will help.
Isn't that a sad state of affairs....
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