Jake Pickett
1/30/2011
This ad screams out class, sophistication, wealth, and
success. The advertisement I have found shows Brad Pitt, a successful and good
looking guy to sell the expensive pictured watch. The advertisement is trying to
appeal to a certain group, and contains specifics in one or all of the themes of race, class, gender and
sexuality. One could make the argument that because the model is white, the ad
is trying to claim to the white male, but to me, the picture is meaning that
the watch is an example of wealth and power and race has nothing to do
with the message that is trying to be sent. The next appeal specification is
class. This theme is more easily recognizable. The picture displays a very well-known
actor and the purpose is that people are supposed to know about this man and
want to be like him. The class that the company is trying to appeal to is the
middle class. The reasoning is because when it comes to upper class, they know
that they are rich and powerful and don’t feel that they need to assimilate
with Brad Pitt, so they might not buy this watch and may get a more expensive,
less advertised watch because they have the resources. But the average middle
class man is supposed to aspire to be well known, famous, and in people’s
minds, to be important you need to look important. The price may seem high, but
the justification that the model represents those that people try to strive to
be like and people who are very successful already, and it is trying to influence
the middle class to want that in life. The middle class are targeted a lot by
expensive retail advertising. It is the desire to become more, to be famous or
wanted in life, that the advertising companies are selling. If they can succeed
in making someone feel more sophisticated or more appealing, they will have the
ability to sell the merchandise at a higher place because the company is
justifying the price with class and success. Gender of course is male, but the
ad could also be seen to make women to want to buy it for their man also. Brad
Pitt in the picture looks cool, focused and presentable. With that pose, with
the sleeve pulled back, it looks relaxed to, like it is an easy life. Men would
see this and want to be care free. With
the sleeve pulled back, it makes men wonder how the watch would look on them.
You yourself could pull up your sleeve and imagine what you would look like if
you had the watch yourself. If there is a slight interest that a man might have
in it, they will wonder how they look with the watch on and it would compel them
to give in and buy the product. Advertising want men to feel a need to look
focused but relaxed, and composed and sure of yourself. With enough
advertising, they companies will help solidify the views into culture and form
a want, not for the product, but a want for the life they see, the one the
dream they can achieve. With regards to advertising to women, the model in the
ad shows strength and confidence, which companies portray quite often because
confidence is important in a personality. If the woman sees the confidence and
wants their man to show that trait, they may get them the watch even though an
article of clothing or accessory has no promise of the desired confidence. The
last theme is sexuality, and is easily shown in this ad. It is portraying
masculinity, and again, confidence. This is meant to make men think that with
this watch, they will look manlier and give them better sex appeal. All these
themes are present but to different people may be interpreted different ways.
The main theme over all that is shown is confidence, masculinity and sex
appeal. Advertisements for men try to make it look easy for someone to become
this way and that by simply purchasing a watch; you could have the high life. Culture
now a days is thoroughly influenced by companies trying to sell fake self
esteem. The advertisements are ment to make it look as though the very thing
that you need most in life can simply be bought and that you can put a price on
your happiness. It just so happens that that so called “happiness” costs a
person an arm and a leg, because the companies know that they can sell the
brand name goods and luxuries at those high of prices because they are a fad
that is in and is socially accepted, a fad that the companies and their
advertising helped create. By digging deeper and seeing how the advertising for
companies try to persuade people into buying their goods, you better see how
every advertisement with the goal of making money is aimed at certain people
and that the companies have actually better helped establish all the desires of
those certain groups of people. The targeted clientele have the desire to be
wanted and to be appealing, they have the money that the companies want, and
lastly they have different opinions of what is best for them all around them.
If the company can make you believe that a watch will put you closer to
perfection, you feel almost obligated to buy it, and the companies will price
that desire accordingly.
