I think this ad is mocking all Calvin Klein ads, but at the same time using it to prove a bigger point. The ad is a spoof of Calvin Klein Obsession perfume ads. When you first glance at it, it does look like one of their ads, with a naked woman on it. But when you look closer you see that the woman is holding her stomach, and leaning over a toilet bowl. Also the vertebrae in her back are very pronounced, and some of her ribs are showing;it is a woman with bulimia. When you think about this, you can see how they are using pathos to pull at your emotions about a trouble in the world today.
I feel that they are using this ad to bring up the bigger issue of the direction that advertising is going these days. My last post was an example of the use of sex appeal , and this ad is showing the effects that the use of sex appeal can have on people. There are so many ads that push being skinny and beautiful that most people end up with low self esteem. Our country has an "obsession" with being perfect(skinny and sexy) that it is messing with the mental health of people. Anorexia and bulimia are becoming more and more common, and this ad is trying to make people realize one of the biggest reasons why.
I think this ad does a good job at making it's point, but at the same time it is still using the same means as the Calvin Klein ads. One, it uses the logo "Obsession" to grab people's attention with a familiar name. Second, it is still using some sex appeal to get attention too. It may need to use the image of the naked woman to make it a true parody to the Calvin Klein ads, but the image of the naked woman is still the thing that grabs your attention first; even before you know what the ad is for.
4 comments:
I analzed the same "Obsession" ad and my summary on it was very similar to yours. The ideas of what is sexy is told to us by media and advertisements. So, the media is to blame, to a degree, for some of the problems women have about their bodies and their self image. If the media didn't make skinny women sexy would society still be obsessed with being skinny?
I loved the mockeries the site made about the calvin klein advertisements, my personal favorite is the Reality for men one. the one you chose really does deal with a serious problem that arises from designers' advertising. their super skinny models, super-gorgeous and super-perfect, make all the rest of us look like ugly ducklings. it's really pretty disgusting.
I really like your interpretation of this ad. I totally agree all of the stuff you said. The adbusters site illustrates what most people think but don't follow their own advice because of the desperate need to adhere to the standards of society.
Hey I chose the same picture to write about too. I liked how you stated that it mocked the Calvin Klein ads and then stated the bigger point of what the picture was about. I also liked how you talked about Bulimia because I did too. It was a good idea that you used it as a hyperlink, I did too! We think alike.
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