Marketing by Masculinizing the Feminine

Elliott J. sent in a comic by Kris Straub, who posts at chainsawsuit, making fun of the way that marketers often try to masculinize products that are associated with women, making them safe for men to consume:After reading the comic, I thought it would be fun to have a round-up of examples of masculinizing the [...]

No Comment: A “Younger, Hotter” Virgin

Just in case we hadn’t fully internalized the message that women are most valued for their youth and beauty, Virgin America has introduced a new “younger, hotter” advertising campaign with slogans like “Fool around with a younger, hotter airline” (pictured left) and “Dump your old airline for a younger, hotter one.” 61-year-old Virgin CEO Richard [...]

Victory! Goodwill Removes Billboard

Denver’s branch of Goodwill Industries, the thrift-store chain that has always positioned itself as a helping hand to diverse communities across the U.S., recently launched a new series of advertisements with the slogan “The Goodwill Effect.” Riding my bike last week in the city, I came across the following billboard for the campaign: “She discovered [...]

Culture-Jamming Sexist Ads

From Sociological Images: Reader Tara C. sent in a great excuse to revive an old post featuring public resistance to marketing that sexually objectifies women. As I wrote back then, this resistance shows that: Adding commentary to the ubiquitous images that surround us [can help] us to notice, even if just temporarily, that our environment [...]

No Comment: Woman-As-Meat Shirt

Eww. This is the “carne t-shirt” from Los Angeles-based “street subculture” clothing line The Hundreds, and it has a naked woman cut up like pieces of meat on it. The “details”of the shirt that The Hundreds provides are especially disgusting: Mmmm. Carne. Oh, sorry, I got a bit distracted there. Not that you really care, [...]

MoveOn Moves Into the Abortion Battle

In 1998, as the Republican Congress was salivating over President Bill Clinton’s sex scandal, software entrepreneurs Joan Blades and Wes Boyd started a petition drive to “Censure President Clinton and Move On to Pressing Issues Facing the Nation.” That online petition drive attracted hundreds of thousands of people who wanted their national leaders to express [...]

Walmart’s geoGirl: Doesn’t Every 8-Year-Old Need to Exfoliate?

While women debate if 50 really is the new 30, with Walmart’s help 8 may be the new 18. On February 21, Walmart launches geoGirl, a line of cosmetic and beauty products specifically formulated for 8- to 12-year-olds. The line, which boasts a total of 69 (let’s hope that’s coincidental) products, contains everything from eyeshadow, [...]

Vintage No Comment: Young and Innocent, 1977

This ad for New West magazine, a short-lived California version of New York magazine, appeared in the January 1977 No Comment section of Ms. Coincidentally, New York magazine published the first-ever edition of Ms. as a one-page insert in 1972. Do you think the same sort of advertising geniuses are behind this campaign that “pretends” [...]

No Comment: Tilly’s Teaches Women How to Listen

Listen up, ladies. Tilly’s, the popular surf and skate clothing chain, is “teaching women how to listen,” according to an LRG-brand t-shirt it’s selling. The front features a woman, nude from the shoulders up, with tape over her mouth, captioned “enjoy the silence,” and below in parentheses, “drawing of girl with tape on mouth.” Offered [...]

Vintage No Comment: The Perfect Present, 1994

This ad for Savane trousers from Macy’s appeared in the Nov/Dec 1994 issue of Ms. What is it about the holiday season that renews the advertising industry’s vigor for sexism? It could be the cookies, the early sunsets or all the Bing Crosby–but it sure is an odd time of year to be a woman. [...]

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