Tom Ford And Victoria's Secret Advertising

Imagine a Victoria’s Secret advertisement. What comes to mind? Beautiful models, clad in only a bra and underwear, staring sultrily into your eyes through the lens of the camera? Or perhaps it’s the utility of the bra the model is wearing? It’s probably the former, and that’s what marketers are hoping for, because in today’s culture, “sex sells”. However, such a sexualized culture is contributing to young men and women growing up with a poor self-body image because they may not appear as skinny or handsome as the models in these advertisements. Even celebrities are falling victims to these sexual beauty standards as Kourtney Kardashian found out after being photoshopped for the cover of OK! magazine. Movements such as Dove’s “Real Beauty”

Tom Ford and Victorias Secret are two brands that really exemplify this trend. The promotion of their products is based upon a women’s sexual appeal rather than functionality. An advertisement for Tom Ford Menswear features a man dressed in a business suit, minus the pants, reading a newspaper. Standing feet away in front of him, gazing longingly into his eyes, is a completely naked woman who is ironing black dress pants. In order to make it publicly appropriate, one nipple is out of the shot, while the other is covered by her hair, and her vagina is covered by the iron she is using to iron his pants. This advertisement perfectly exemplifies the sexual culture advertising revolves around now. This advertisement is not only demeaning to women, as it portrays the women as a naked servant to the man, but it also contributes to how maturing girls view how they are supposed to act around males, as this advertisement suggests that appearing naked and doing their chores for them will have an affect. Victoria’s Secret is also notable for sexually objectifying women in advertising. An advertisement for

Calvin Klein is known for steely black and white advertisements, featuring scantily clad men and women, much like Victoria’s secret ads. However, Calvin Klein also portrays men very sexually, rather than just women like Victoria’s Secret. A black and white advertisement for Calvin Klein only proves that men are sexually objectified in advertisements too. David Beckham, clad in only a pair of black boxer briefs stares sultrily into the camera lens. He has tattoos covering his arm, and a hairless, chiseled abdomen. This pressures males into feeling self-conscious about their bodies, when all they see advertised are attractive, in shape men and their body type may not be the same. This type of advertisement creates harsh standards of attractiveness for men. A hairless, chiseled body and Calvin Klein underwear are needed to be seen as attractive to a women. Much the same with Tom Ford Menswear and Victoria’s Secret advertisements, marketers should focus on selling the product, and not selling the