THIS IS SO FUNNY

I can’t stop laughing at this picture.

I’ve been seeing a ton of Obama-inspired advertisements – the same message of hope and optimism, and often that same font! Here are some links I found recently…

• This Ikea campaign has been getting a lot of attention (here are the other two). On their website, you can design your own oval office with their furniture, and I heard they hired an actual motorcade to drive around DC with Ikea furniture strapped to the top. (I heard that here, which is also where I got the idea for this post)
• And then there’s the new Pepsi “Optimism” campaign, which even dresses Pepsi up in a new, simplistic logo that resembles Obama’s signature O. It encourages you to refresh the world, with Pepsi! I saw a huge billboard that said “SODYPOP” with the Os as their logo, and I made the Obama connection right away. It kind of unnerved me.
• Ben and Jerry’s, naturally, has a new Obamalicious flavor (Colbert’s looked tastier).
• I came across this Budweiser ad, which is trying out Bud’s new alternative, homey positioning with the “change” idea.
• This Hamburger Helper ad is kind of clever, and really simple. I totally get the point right away, and it’s a term that’s right on the tip of everyone’s tongue.
• And then, to spice the post up with some bullshit, this Axe ad is pretty offensive, I think. Because I find Axe pretty offensive to begin with. Need I explain? You know, because errrrr Axe had nothing to with any of this, and I seriously doubt Barack is dousing himself in that gunk every morning. And because it’s just that age-old idea that women aren’t every enticed by anything worthwhile, that we can be swayed by anything! even…smells? Because our lady-minds can’t handle anything important like politics! If I were Hillary I think I’d be pretty offended.

GoDaddy commercial

I’m not sure I follow that Danica Patrick stuff, but I do know that I’m planning on buying a domain name soon, and GoDaddy doesn’t really seem to have any interest in my business. You know, because I have a vagina.

CatholicVote.com. Thoughts on this? I find it kind of sickening, but the irony is pretty laughable. Because errr you know, Obama is super-prochoice. And errr if the CatholicVote.com people had their way, he wouldn’t be president anyway, so what gives them the right to use his image and his history for their own cause – especially a cause Obama doesn’t align with? Kind of troubling, and not for the intended reasons.

Lenovo ad
Because this computer must not be awesome enough not to need to objectify women to sell it. or something.

Soon to come – exploiting the current political climate in advertising!

Obama reverses Mexico City Policy! In the first week of his presidency!

It feels SO GOOD to have a president who is SO awesome.

Happy 36th Anniversary, Roe versus Wade!

Who can’t wait for Obama to get rid of that damn Global Gag Rule!!!

I make this comparison because it’s pretty laughable? But Cara reminds us that this is where taxpayer dollars are going! Bush just said yesterday:

“My administration has been committed to building a culture of life by vigorously promoting adoption and parental notification laws, opposing federal funding for abortions overseas, encouraging teen abstinence and funding crisis pregnancy programs.”

I guess comparing premarital sex with drugs and alcohol just seems…..errrrr unfair? There’s a risk when you get into a car, but everyone drives. And there’s a risk when you get in a plane, but what are you gonna do. People like risks, they’re fun. And people are going to take them no matter which clowns tell them not to. And these kids won’t know how to use condoms, when they do take those “risks.”

I just wonder how I would’ve reacted if this guy came to WPMS when I was there (which would never happen, ever. Thanks, Westchester!).

Started watching Madmen the other night; 3 people asked me if i watched it in the past week when I told them of my interesting juxtaposition of a dual-major. Seems right up my alley. I love TV via intarwebs.

No class until 1245 means the day is shorter and I stay up later doing non-schoolwork because I feel like I can.

Having a Friday graphics lab is already making me feel behind. First project is a resume, it’s already stressing me out. Done buying books.

I also bought a 40×55 poster of Rosie the Riveter.

John McCain was at the Georgetown/Syracuse basketball game the other night, I blame him for the loss.

Today was my first day of graphics class, in Newhouse, and it was pretty awesome, except one thing that I didn’t see coming. The professor, a young, hip, well-traveled and interesting dude, showed us some of his previous work. One of his collections was a campaign for REVO Magazine that included those same depictions of women that I’ve grown to abhor so much. (click “interactive” and then its the second one) The classic couture gaunt pose, the sectioned off women, the open mouths, the gaze…it was such a textbook example of the things I hate, and it was really disheartening coming from a professor at the so-called “Harvard of Communications Schools.” On that note, today’s dose of fucked up shit…

LEGO

via AdGoodness
EDIT: THESE AREN’T REAL LEGO ADS! SPOOFS FROM A SPREAD IN AMUSEMENT MAGAZINE THAT ACTUALLY HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH LEGO. HM.
This one is really yucky, specifically because the idea so clever. Too bad it’s done in such terribly poor taste! Is there no way to use this idea in a way that isn’t so fucked up? You could blur out…license plates! or logos on tshirts or product placement, or people’s faces on Cops. And what on earth is it for? [Thx for the ideas, 1218]

related: Clever-as-hell Nikon ad just can’t resist including girl-on-girl action… (I couldn’t find this for a bit because I was searching for “Kodak,” proving that they weren’t that good in the first place) (THESE ARE LEGIT)

SAKS

via AdRants

This is another classic I was recently chatting about – the commodity. Ads tend to give women this kind of powerful position, but it’s always completely based on materials and spending money. You can change the world! Through this slouchy bag! More frivolous nonsense so you don’t spend your effort worrying about anything worthwhile.

HEINEKEN

via AdRants
You know, because women are hysterical and frivolous. And it’s obviously aimed at men (its beer! only men drink beer! dur) but ridicules women at womens’ expense.

found in CMYK Magazine, whose tagline is “inspiring visual communication”
via feministing, via sociological images

“This is no time for conversation…Yeah, it’s that important”
via feministing, via The Bilerico Project

I’m almost offocially a dual major in Advertising and Women’s and Gender Studies, in the Newhouse School and the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University.

Now, for anyone who has heard of the Newhouse School, it’s supposed to be a big deal, right? S.I. Newhouse owns Advance Publications – Conde Nast. I didn’t know this going in (at all!) but it’s been called the Harvard of Communication Schools. Now, I applied to this school because, vaguely knowing of this reputation, I assumed a credible media school would be…skeptical of the media, like I tend to be. But Newhouse isn’t. At least not yet, after 3 semesters. I need that skepticism and maybe some cynicism, as a feminist. I feel like when I look at advertising, all I see is sexism.

I don’t have a positive outlook on the ad world. When I flip through magazines, I don’t see the clever taglines or breathtaking art direction as quickly as I notice the skewed gender roles or underlying messages about sex or homophobia or capitalism. So I picked up the Women’s Studies dual major.

And I read blogs every day. My Google Reader has 26 subscptions, some Feminist and some ad-oriented (and some comics and political blogs). There is some crossover in these two categories, but not nearly enough. Feministing and AdRants hit a fewquestionable advertisements that interest me, mixed in with a ton of other stuff (really worthwhile stuff).

All of this brings me to the point! That I want to blog about sexist images and ads. Current ones, with maybe some ridiculous older stuff along the way. I’m going to try to flip through more magazines and I’m going to scan in stuff that I see from the NYtimes or other papers I come across (Daily Orange, perhaps?). I think I’m going to start off with just images, and eventually add my own thoughts. Play it out in the comments until then. Phew! OK, here we go, enjoy it.