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Recommended: Male gender roles in advertising

Smoke a lot. Drink more of what you have been drinking and try some new stuff. Eat real crappy food. Now go and exercise for ten minutes and soon you will be giving Arnold Swartzenegger a run for his money. Life is good when you are a guy in this day and age, especially when it comes to advertising. Recently I picked up an edition of the latest magazine, Maxim and after reading, starring, and goggling I feel like I have just left a bachelor party.

Ad campaigns that are directed toward the male species believe it or not are constructed very simple: sex, booze, money, and did I mention sex? These are the very basic infrastructures of the male psyche. It is hard to believe that after a million years of evolution, placing a man on the moon, and constructing mile high buildings the basic ingredients to a successful advertisement to entice men to buy can be reduced down to sex or how to get it.

The January edition of MAXIM magazine (Maxim, 1999) that featured the model/actress Shannon Elizabeth in a very skimpy top is very typical of what men want to see. The cover stories included, "Her secret sex fantasy" and "100 women tell you what really turns them on!" Right. I hate to be a skeptic but why would women want to tell me what turn them on especially after they have kept it a secret up until this point, at least that's what my dad says. On the other hand this could be the new Bible for men. The article of course is an advertisement for a book that I can easily purchase for a measly $9.97 plus shipping and handling. The ad instructs me that this is the latest book from Maxim's secret vault and it is so hot that it should be illegal! Illegal? It is also packed with scorching photos that are too hot for them to show! As I read on I am instructed that I will not believe it till I see it! And I must act now to receive a complimentary poster for the first 100 orders. I thought to myself that perhaps they should have offered a free cold shower because that what I needed after I goggled at the ad for a minute or two. This of course is a typical ploy of marketers according to Jeffery Shrank in "Why you buy-how ads persuade"(Shrank, 1994) in which an illustration is made depicting a technique to persuade using buzzwords.

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