Sexual Entertainment in Ads

Ryuji Gibo, OCU

In Japan today, there are many advertisements that feature women exposing more and more skin so as to attract more and more viewers. What the ads’ creators are trying to do is to make viewers feel as though they trying their particular products in some vicarious way. Exposing skin is not illegal. However, some of these sexualized ads have been discussed as examples of gender discrimination. There seems to be three main reasons why some people are critical of these sorts of ads.

Source: deviantart.com

Firstly, showing skin is a woman’s job, so to speak. It should really be a matter of her preference. In advertising, women are usually directed to show more of their skin as a way of persuading people to consume more of a particular product. An example of this is “Hooters” in the U.S. Even though they are selling just fast food, the Hooters women staff are made to wear sexy costumes and to talk closely to the customers in order to “hear” their orders more carefully. This sort of invasion of a customer's personal space poses the waitresses as if they are girlfriends, or intimate partners with the customers. This communication approach satisfies the customers to some degree by making them feel as though they have some power beyond their role as patrons. Hooters is not only selling food, but it is selling the image of beautiful women. This business model amounts to sexual discrimination, because it forces women to take unnatural roles as servants. They wait upon patrons but also act in ways that fulfill male fantasies.

Second of all, women’s position in some ads implies a gender hierarchy. As we have seen in the advertising industry, many ads illustrate how a gender hierarchy in society remains in place. The supportive evidence can be seen in the women’s physical position in various ads. Many ads cast women positioned below men in the images, and the women are looking up toward the men who are over them in dominant positions. These positions suggest to viewers the importance of the social hierarchy between men and women. The ads indirectly suggest that women should respect men in society. And more indirectly, the position also implies that women are in the control of men.

Finally, there is a problem in the way men treat women in ads. We can realize that men dominate women through looking at men and women’s actions in ads. Some women in ads do not look like they hold equal power, while they are merely men’s satisfying object. One of the ads we analyzed had a man wearing a nice blue suit and tie with a girl wearing bathing wear on the seashore. The guy is not supposed to be dressed like that in this situation. While the man shows his wealth and power, the woman apparently does not have money power as she lies below him. She looks more like a doll that has no emotion. The guy looks a though he can afford to play with the girl.

Thus, as we focus on the many advertisements playing around us, we may notice gender bias at work. Although these messages may be vaguely sexual, and may not have intended by their creators to taken as such, they are still upsetting to people. The images tell a story that is often not spoken, a tale of gender hierarchy that still exists in today’s society. To create a better story, we should stop casting women in these bad positions and erase the bad tradition. I think everyone would agree that our moms would be proud of us.

Noodles, Females and Objectification

Masayuki Chinen, OCU

Nisshin Food Products television commercials have attracted the attention of many people, especially men, in its use of sexuality as a method of stimulating a sense of hunger in viewers. One ad in particular expresses man’s sexual desire toward women. It also reflects the general desire of women to maintain a beautiful appearance and slender body.

Nisshin is a well-known food company, especially for its Cup Noodle brand. In 2010, Nisshin marketed a new line known as Cup Noodle Light. Viewers may notice immediately what is special about this product from its name. Obviously, this product is supposed to contain less calories than other similar products while it also contains dietary fiber.

Nisshin Food Products, 2012

When I heard the name of this product, I thought the company was mainly targeting female customers. However, the commercial presents also another perspective from what I had first imagined. The advertisement features a beautiful woman who appears essentially naked. She framed by the camera from the low waistline up, and her exposed skin is painted in the pattern of Cup Noodle Light. Her slender appearance and beauty illustrate the power of the visual and what could possibly be in store for customers who eat this product. So, the TV advertisement strives to elicit the general female desire to be slender and to be beautiful.

The message, though, is meant not only for women but for men with its portrayal of the woman. It is appealing to male customers because it presents the woman in an almost erotic pose half naked, exposed and welcoming, which motivate the male sexual drive. When male customers choose this brand of noodle, the images presented in the advertisement serve to appeal to the emotions connections that men feel toward women. These connections are also linked to the product, Cup Noodle Light.

While recent women’s equal rights movements challenging the unfair treatment and discrimination of women have had some success in Japanese society, we still need to go further in improving equality and respecting the dignity of women. Unfortunately, male chauvinism still appears to exist in societies across the globe where women are objectified in the interest of marketing products.

In Japan, the woman who is generally slender and who has wider eyes than the norm has come to be more visually appealing, more valuable, and more marketable to manufacturers. It seems every condition of feminine beauty is manufactured today by a man’s sense of value. Many women strive to be more slender by dieting and sometimes the result is excess dieting, which leads to very serious emotional and psychological problems. These unrealistic concepts about feminine beauty appear to be a leading cause of anorexia.

Nisshin Cup Noodle also emphasizes the calorie and dietary fiber, which is related directly the slender body image. If such extreme emphasis continues to be placed on sexual fantasy in advertising, we really need to step back from the media presented on TV and ask about the real value of this fantasy and its effects on women.