Ads that Objectify Women

August 14th, 2007 By: DJ Nelson · 28 Comments

It seems like the latest thing in advertising is the objectification model.

Here’s how it works: You take a woman (preferably only a part of a woman) and somehow compare her to the object that you intend to sell. You’ll score 10 more points if you can somehow sexualize it.

The text at the bottom says something like “there are better things to hit.” Of course this is at a subway station so as men (and women) walk through they’ll obviously be bumping their genitals into these signs.

Now to address the naysayers-

Oh it’s not that bad.

Where is your sense of humor?

I am a woman and I can’t stand all this feminist, woman power, bs.

That’s fine but when some strange man walks up to you, smacks
you on the ass, and calls you toots- don’t get upset because that’s
what stuff like this- stuff you call funny and not a big deal- trains
men to do.

YOU ARE AN OBJECT, not a person.

So when you are at the office and you feel a strong *smack*; don’t run to human resources; just think: It’s not that bad, where my sense of humor.

28 responses so far ↓

1 Erika // Aug 17, 2007 at 10:11 pm

Just call yourself a feminist and get it over with.
2 DJ // Aug 17, 2007 at 11:04 pm

Thank you for that very intelligent and thought provoking comment. Though I am not sure what you expected me to take from that.
3 Zund // Aug 19, 2007 at 8:26 am

“when some strange man walks up to you, smacks
you on the ass, and calls you toots- don’t get upset because that’s
what stuff like this- stuff you call funny and not a big deal- trains
men to do.”

As a guy, myself - I think you need to be around normal people, rather than uneducated idiots like this. (Providing this actually happened)
4 DJ // Aug 19, 2007 at 4:46 pm

Shocking isn’t it?

I hate to say it, but I’ve been caught off guard more than once by the rudeness/stupidity of some people.
5 Zmoney // Aug 20, 2007 at 11:42 pm

People need to learn self control =p
6 Allena Tapia // Aug 25, 2007 at 4:57 pm

“trains men to do.”

huh? Are you going to qualify that or explain it at all?

What kind of men do you hang around with? I tend to avoid men that would take a glossy ad as “training” or “permission.”
7 Jackie // Aug 28, 2007 at 11:45 pm

Many people posting are discussing how they just avoid men, or people, who are influenced by ads like these. Thats not possible.

We are ALL affected by advertising, everyday. And like it or not it does affects our perception of what is acceptable and what is not. Women are over sexualized in the media and this is having a negative effect on how men treat women and how women see their own bodies.
8 Audrey // Aug 30, 2007 at 12:12 pm

I don’t think men are trained to do something by an ad they see
People who objectify people instead of realizing no one is what you see in an ad are the ones who need to rethink what thet have been taught by their people
9 Stephanie // Aug 30, 2007 at 1:47 pm

The fact that both of these signs probably got approved by Durex, their marketing company, and the company who agreed to put them up- people who helped to promote the message behind these ads, including the person who started the project- believed that these signs would sell condoms…..is probably the saddest thing.

Of course when we see images like this the probability of immediately acting out in such ways is slim. That’s not the point.

It’s the *exposure and the *impact of the message=both things that contribute to success rates in advertising. I’m willing to bet A LOT of people were confronted with sexism when seeing these disrespectful, crude and negative ads.

We all grow up with beliefs about men and women-whether good or bad. As we age the beliefs become instinctual. You don’t think about it, it’s become a habit and each person who sees those signs confirm those beliefs.

Considering that the messages of these ads are aimed towards the people who probably did not grow up with positive beliefs about gender assignments….I wonder how many people reacted negatively to this sign?

We may not always act on our beliefs, but they do contribute to the general quality of life.
10 ScottMon // Aug 30, 2007 at 4:47 pm

Its more than sexualizing women in advertising. Ever notice that its a woman who’s in the commericals for housecleaning products? You never see a guy with a vacuum cleaner, mop or laundry detergent.
11 Allena Tapia // Aug 31, 2007 at 8:49 am

hah you must not be home during the day scott, I see PLENTY of men cleaning on tv and LOVE it.
12 Abby // Sep 1, 2007 at 12:28 am

Wow, those ads are over the top! I am lenient when it comes to condom ads - many of them make sex funny and also an equal experience for the partners, but these clearly alienate men from women. By making their potential partners into nothing but an object to “smack”, sex is made less pleasureable for everyone. There are MUCH better condom ads than this - I encourage everyone to seek them out!
13 Fyuzhn // Sep 2, 2007 at 7:04 am

I find the ads a little distasteful, but I don’t believe they actually “train” most men to think they can grab women.

If you *do* happen to run across someone that is dumb enough to take such advertising to heart and thinks your body is fair game, I find an elbow to the face works wonders in terms of re-education…
14 Owen James // Sep 2, 2007 at 12:52 pm

I’ll have you know that some advert that is clearly meant as a joke will not “train” me to do anything. How stupid do you think men are? There is feminism, (wanting women to have an equal place in society) which i’m all for, but what your “train” comment implies is that men are no better than animals, if this is how you really think you have a serious female superiority and that makes you no better than the men you are complaining about, you get me “toots”?

P.S no mention of the many advertisments nowadays that either insult men to sell products to women, or the adverts that objectify men, diet coca cola had a big succession of them a year or so ago.
15 H // Sep 2, 2007 at 6:03 pm

Those ads are really disturbing!
16 Estela // Sep 3, 2007 at 6:21 am

Isn’t the first one a fake? I mean, it was from a Burger King campaign I think. Someone photoshoped the durex box.

So, do you think it’s still offensive if you’re talking about eating a big hamburguer?
17 Say What You Want- It’s Still Objectification // Sep 6, 2007 at 11:39 am

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18 Tom Ford Fragrance Ad Objectifies Women | All Diva Media Blog // Sep 14, 2007 at 1:26 pm

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19 DJ // Oct 30, 2007 at 3:40 pm

I’m not posting comments that address the “trains” statement I made because if you read the full post, you’ll see that I wrote a follow up that discusses what I meant by that.
20 Disorganized // Dec 27, 2007 at 6:34 pm

Just another one of the self-centered feminists. You only think about yourselves. There are just as many adverts out there that objectify men. Personally I think feminists like you simply suffer from low self esteem. You’d rather women wear sweaters and pant suits, or anything that doesn’t show a figure. Get over yourself, you’re nothing special.
21 DJ Nelson // Dec 27, 2007 at 6:52 pm

Thank you for what I assume is a well thought out argument, short sighted and narrow minded yes, but thank you for keeping it discussion-worthy. While you are entitled to your opinion on the matter, I’ve always thought it was prudent to stay on topic. This site is about women, hence the post. If you want to read about ads that objectify men and the effect it has on society then feel free to do a little research and respond with a post of your own.
22 Lisa // Mar 20, 2008 at 4:22 pm

Check these out too:

http://sociologicalimages.blogspot.com/2008/03/products-shaped-like-female-bodies.html

http://sociologicalimages.blogspot.com/2008/03/this-is-called-bitchcruiser-you-can.html
23 aguy // Mar 28, 2008 at 5:52 pm

Zund, “As a guy, myself - I think you need to be around normal people, rather than uneducated idiots like this. (Providing this actually happened)”.

As a guy myself, I think you are mssing the point. These aren’t always men women know doing this; most of the time it is strangers, in a public place.
24 Andrew // Mar 28, 2008 at 6:56 pm

Er, I’m quite sure that the top picture you displayed is infact a burger king advert that was doctored, but otherwise I support your point

Here it is….. http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/4933/burgerking19kq.jpg
25 DJ Nelson // Mar 29, 2008 at 1:40 pm

Does that make it any less objectifying in either case?
26 snyder // Mar 30, 2008 at 5:19 pm

I agree it’s in bad taste, but the “training” remark is pretty insulting
27 DJ Nelson // Mar 30, 2008 at 5:40 pm

I’ve already said that train= the subconscious. For further information please read this rather snotty clarification I wrote. It didn’t seem snotty at the time but since it’s already out there.

http://www.alldivamedia.com/blog/2007/09/02/say-what-you-want-its-still-objectification/
28 Selling (Smarter) Sex « Little Lambs Eat Ivy // Apr 11, 2008 at 9:43 am

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