Advertising

I realize the Super Bowl was a little bit ago but bear with the tardiness.

I'm sure every woman remembers the H&M ad with David Beckham. Let's be honest, the man is gorgeous. And when it came on, I'm sure the women I was with at the time were all intrigued. And I'm equally sure all the men were thinking the same thing.

And then one of them said it out loud.

"Every man in here is definitely gonna be hitting the gym tomorrow. We're all looking at ourselves like damn..."

Well men, welcome to the life of a woman. If men really do look at that ad and feel inadequate, well then imagine that every.single.ad on tv, on billboards, in magazines, at bus stops, made you feel that way.

I think the H&M ad was over the top, in that objectification of men is certainly not what people mean when they look for gender equality. But at least he was advertising underwear! If it was for...say, a domain host like godaddy.com, then I'm sure there'd be more confusion over the use of an almost naked man.

The truly odd part about advertising is that it seems companies are marketing to the wrong gender. Victoria's Secret ads have gone so far as to show completely naked women in their ads. Assuming heterosexuality (since that is the majority), men will be more intrigued than women towards these ads. The people who would actually be the consumers aren't even shown the product!

How are naked women supposed to garner female customers?

Likewise, how is the image of a naked David Beckham supposed to entice male customers? Can't we all just agree that the objectification of PEOPLE, male or female, is not only inappropriate, but seriously poor marketing.

Everyday women are bombarded with images of scantily clad models....models who despite having ideal (per societal standards) bodies, are further photoshopped to look even thinner, younger, taller. These images are used to advertise everything from diet pills to shoes to vodka to cars.

I'm, in some respect, glad that the H&M ad made men feel uncomfortable. I just hope they realize that that feeling is the norm for half the population. I hope men notice the images of women a little more, and not in the way they have been, but through the eyes of a woman. And I truly hope that the comparable images of men are not going to become the norm.

Take a look around, men. It shouldn't take the objectification of a man to turn the light on.

Seriously, companies just need to hire better marketing personnel.