Friday, October 5, 2012
“What You See Is What You Get”
It isn’t news that car advertisers and car enthusiasts often rely on scantily clad women draped over or caressing cars in order to capture certain men’s attention. And these ads work! They lure us in, seduce us, and create a sense of longing. But what exactly are we yearning for when our eyes are glued to the page or screen—the car or the woman?
We are all familiar with the saying, “sex sells,” but what is it that makes the pairing of sexy women and cars seem so normal and natural to some people? I don’t have an answer for that, but this woman/car coupling is being challenged. One example is the GlamGalz website that features what could only be referred to as before-and-after pictures, with the “before” featuring women on cars and the “after” featuring men on cars in similar poses.
The typically conservative Toyota recently released a commercial in Japan that also challenges this connection, but it does so with a twist. Their commercial for the 2012 Auris, not sold in the states, features a Ukranian model wearing red bikini bottoms and a short black jacket that eventually comes off and ends up on the floor. After that, all we see is the model’s backside, red undies and all, walking toward the car, of course!
Then the model turns around and looks straight into the camera. If we weren’t tempted into watching the commercial before, the opportunity to see her naked and disrobed keeps us hooked. She gazes at us seductively, and we gaze back at her.
If the viewer is a “real” man, his breathing quickens as the camera pulls back ready to reveal boobs(!). He anticipates a full frontal view. And he’s not disappointed.
However, once the camera lens widens, we’d be sure to hear an audible gasp coming from his mouth with the protestation: “Wait! That’s a man!”
Uh, oh! There goes any confidence you had in your ability to tell the difference between a man and a woman. For straight men, this shock of recognition challenges cultural and gender norms. For other viewers, however, it might be a welcome change. For me, I just felt a deep sense of satisfaction knowing that a number of men had an April Fool’s moment.
Toyota’s sexy new commercial takes advantage of Ukranian model Stav Strashko’s androgynous looks. They rely on our sexist expectations and then, BOOM, they shock us! Here is the full video:
I applaud Toyota for being so bold and wish they had the opportunity to share it with a wider audience. There is at least one man’s reaction to the ad on which I couldn’t resist commenting. A male writer at Autoevolution, Mihnea Radu, seemed downright angry and maybe even a little embarrassed over his anticipation and eagerness to see what he thought he was going to see.
Radu refers to the commercial as being a sham and dishonest: “The videos are actually a form of deception,” he writes, “as they initially offer imagery of what is perceived as female beauty.” If he was deceived, then it proves that the sexist objectification of women exists and serves a particular function for heterosexual men like him—they are designed to arouse men and to capture their attention.
But Radu is angry, because he was fooled! His embarrassment over being deceived by what he thought was an image of female beauty prompts him to rationalize his response. While he thinks Japan is “highly civilized,” he also feels that they release a lot of “weirdness across the internet.” This statement reveals that he thinks androgynous men are odd or strange or that the Japanese are because they feature one in a commercial.
Next, Radu surmises “that Japan is more open to transgender imagery,” and implies that this is a bad thing when he ends his sentence with the assertion, “this would (sic) commercial would surely have been banned in Europe or America.” Hmmmm….now I wonder who he thinks is more civilized?
Radu makes a case against Toyota’s bold new ad by comparing it with previous marketing tactics: “Toyota cars are usually marketed as being good for the whole family,” but, he implies, this deception apparently taints their more wholesome reputation. Is it the ad’s sexiness and full frontal nudity that makes the Auris off-limits for a family or is it that Toyota links it with a transgender man whom he tags as weird? I would like to suggest that it is the latter, since most heterosexual men do not find images of nearly naked women disagreeable. After all, when sex sells, the only acceptable kind of sex is heterosexual. So why would a “normal” family buy a car linked with “weirdness” and “abnormality?”
Finally, Radu claims that the “ad somewhat cuts against the grain of traditional values, and somewhat limits the mass-market appeal of the Auris hatch.” Somewhat? Somewhat?! I would be interested in knowing what he means by this. Does he mean to say that it “somewhat cuts against the grain of traditional values” only insomuch that it fooled him into thinking he was watching a woman? And if that was the case, then it would have been alright had it been a woman, because then the commercial would have maintained that steadfast and time-honored tradition of presenting women as sex objects?
We are all familiar with the saying, “sex sells,” but what is it that makes the pairing of sexy women and cars seem so normal and natural to some people? I don’t have an answer for that, but this woman/car coupling is being challenged. One example is the GlamGalz website that features what could only be referred to as before-and-after pictures, with the “before” featuring women on cars and the “after” featuring men on cars in similar poses.
The typically conservative Toyota recently released a commercial in Japan that also challenges this connection, but it does so with a twist. Their commercial for the 2012 Auris, not sold in the states, features a Ukranian model wearing red bikini bottoms and a short black jacket that eventually comes off and ends up on the floor. After that, all we see is the model’s backside, red undies and all, walking toward the car, of course!
Then the model turns around and looks straight into the camera. If we weren’t tempted into watching the commercial before, the opportunity to see her naked and disrobed keeps us hooked. She gazes at us seductively, and we gaze back at her.
If the viewer is a “real” man, his breathing quickens as the camera pulls back ready to reveal boobs(!). He anticipates a full frontal view. And he’s not disappointed.
However, once the camera lens widens, we’d be sure to hear an audible gasp coming from his mouth with the protestation: “Wait! That’s a man!”
Uh, oh! There goes any confidence you had in your ability to tell the difference between a man and a woman. For straight men, this shock of recognition challenges cultural and gender norms. For other viewers, however, it might be a welcome change. For me, I just felt a deep sense of satisfaction knowing that a number of men had an April Fool’s moment.
Toyota’s sexy new commercial takes advantage of Ukranian model Stav Strashko’s androgynous looks. They rely on our sexist expectations and then, BOOM, they shock us! Here is the full video:
I applaud Toyota for being so bold and wish they had the opportunity to share it with a wider audience. There is at least one man’s reaction to the ad on which I couldn’t resist commenting. A male writer at Autoevolution, Mihnea Radu, seemed downright angry and maybe even a little embarrassed over his anticipation and eagerness to see what he thought he was going to see.
Radu refers to the commercial as being a sham and dishonest: “The videos are actually a form of deception,” he writes, “as they initially offer imagery of what is perceived as female beauty.” If he was deceived, then it proves that the sexist objectification of women exists and serves a particular function for heterosexual men like him—they are designed to arouse men and to capture their attention.
But Radu is angry, because he was fooled! His embarrassment over being deceived by what he thought was an image of female beauty prompts him to rationalize his response. While he thinks Japan is “highly civilized,” he also feels that they release a lot of “weirdness across the internet.” This statement reveals that he thinks androgynous men are odd or strange or that the Japanese are because they feature one in a commercial.
Next, Radu surmises “that Japan is more open to transgender imagery,” and implies that this is a bad thing when he ends his sentence with the assertion, “this would (sic) commercial would surely have been banned in Europe or America.” Hmmmm….now I wonder who he thinks is more civilized?
Radu makes a case against Toyota’s bold new ad by comparing it with previous marketing tactics: “Toyota cars are usually marketed as being good for the whole family,” but, he implies, this deception apparently taints their more wholesome reputation. Is it the ad’s sexiness and full frontal nudity that makes the Auris off-limits for a family or is it that Toyota links it with a transgender man whom he tags as weird? I would like to suggest that it is the latter, since most heterosexual men do not find images of nearly naked women disagreeable. After all, when sex sells, the only acceptable kind of sex is heterosexual. So why would a “normal” family buy a car linked with “weirdness” and “abnormality?”
Finally, Radu claims that the “ad somewhat cuts against the grain of traditional values, and somewhat limits the mass-market appeal of the Auris hatch.” Somewhat? Somewhat?! I would be interested in knowing what he means by this. Does he mean to say that it “somewhat cuts against the grain of traditional values” only insomuch that it fooled him into thinking he was watching a woman? And if that was the case, then it would have been alright had it been a woman, because then the commercial would have maintained that steadfast and time-honored tradition of presenting women as sex objects?
Monday, October 1, 2012
Menu of Services
Dr.
Elizabeth Archuleta will use her knowledge and expertise to help your organization:
- · improve financial performance
- · increase innovation
- · avoid groupthink
- · increase productivity & problem-solving skills
- · improve employee satisfaction/engagement
- · better connect with diverse communities of people and clients
- · more fully represent and better connect with current clients
- · positively impact recruitment, retention, and ability to hire the best talent
In
her prior role as a Women & Gender Studies assistant professor in Arizona
State University’s School of Social Transformation, Dr. Archuleta taught about
the importance of diversity and inclusion. Her research, publications, and
undergraduate and graduate courses focused on race, class, gender, and sexual
orientation. Dr. Archuleta earned her Ph.D. and her M.A. in English from the
Pennsylvania State University and her B.A. in English with a political science
minor from Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah.
She can be reached at elizabeth.archuleta@gmail.com
Expertise:
Diverse Women & Inclusion, LGBT, Cultural
Competence, Visible/Invisible Minorities
Pricing
structure does not include airfare/hotel:
·
Keynotes
begin at $3500 (includes preparation, travel time, and expertise).
·
Workshops
priced at $3500 half day or $5500 full day.
·
Webinars
are $30 per person for a 30-minute session.
1. Diversity
and Inclusion 101
Organizations
that incorporate an inclusion and diversity infrastructure into their workforce
strategy are more productive and innovative than their competitors, making them
better equipped to tackle challenges from today's multicultural and global
marketplace. Learn how a diverse workforce will set you apart from your
competitors. Harness the power of diversity and inclusion to increase your
bottom line. Hispanic buying power in 2012 is worth $1 trillion and is expected to grow
another 50% in the next five years; LGBT buying power is already worth $790
billion. What was
once a largely homogeneous population in the United States has changed and the
world is becoming more interconnected. Today, the faces of customers,
employees, and suppliers have transformed into a dynamic mix of people
comprised of various races, cultures, and backgrounds. Forward-looking
companies recognize and understand the implications of these demographic shifts,
and they have altered their customer focus, employee base, and business
practices to take advantage of the potential that current and prospective
customers and employees offer. After this session, your
organization will learn how a diverse employee and customer base can increase
innovation, improve profits, and help your business better represent and connect
with a changing world.
2. LGBT Diversity and Inclusion
Learn
how innovative recruiting and retention policies and practices are critical for
tapping the LGBT talent pool and building a workforce that will help your
company achieve a competitive edge. In order to remain competitive, it is
imperative that companies attract and value diverse employees who will attract
and value diverse customers. Sodexo, a global company with around $19 billion
in total revenue, developed an integrated diversity strategy that they claim is
key to their success. Based on their diversity and inclusion policies and
practices, they rank in Diversity Inc.’s top 10 companies in several categories,
including for executive women, Latinos, African Americans, supplier diversity,
LGBT employees, and more. This session emphasizes action planning, including
policy, practice and workplace climate changes. After this session,
organizations will learn strategies that attract and retain LGBT employees.
3.
The Power of Out: Building an Inclusive Workplace
The
LGBT community represents a highly motivated and educated workforce. Employees
who are out flourish at work. In contrast, employees who stay “in the closet”
either languish or leave and negatively affect the company’s bottom line
because of this loss of talent. Is the LGBT community a mystery to you? This
session is designed to enlighten organizations about the LGBT community. After
this session, organizations will be proficient in LGBT cultural competency,
including terminology, history, and key concepts. Organizations will also learn
the business case for LGBT workplace equality.
4.
Beyond Diversity Day: Ways to Support Diversity & Inclusion
Corporations
spend billions on diversity and inclusion training programs and events,
sometimes including LGBT issues and sometimes not. But they don’t create
ongoing support systems to ensure that they get the return on investment that
they are expecting. This session will help you create that missing link. A
one-time or once-a-year program or event is not enough. We will discuss
multicultural communications, employee resource groups, empowering women in the
workplace, disability and special needs accommodations, the Latino effect, and
religion in the workplace. Participants will learn how to create a successful
diversity and inclusion initiative that combines training with systemic changes
such as the implementation of mentoring programs and the critical assessment of
an organization's promotion practices.
5.
Completing the Circle of Diversity: Business Case for Supplier Diversity
Supplier
diversity makes good business sense. Why? Diverse suppliers are cost competitive, innovative and offer
strategic value to large organizations. They also offer greater flexibility and more customer focus.
Since most diverse suppliers are also small businesses, contracting with them
increases spending and consumption in the local economy, because they promote
job creation on a local level. Your supplier base should reflect the local
community, and if your organization is global, your supplier base should
reflect that as well. Adding a supplier diversity program ensures that your
diversity practices are uniform across segments. After this session,
organizations will learn about the benefits of supplier diversity. Does your
corporation's supply chain mirror a diverse customer and employee base that you
have or might be trying to attract? It should.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)