This ad uses the method of advertisement talked about in the film "Miss Representation." By using this method, advertisers attempt to make girls think they need to use their bodies for attention and social status. In the picture, the model is shown half-naked, with the name of the perfume plastered above her. She is ridiculously skinny, and is generally unrealistically pretty. She has a young male companion with her, and it is clear that she is using her body to attract him. This sort of ad preys on the deepest needs of teenage girls. Young girls feel the need to be liked, and ads like this offer them the option of fulfilling that need by using their sexuality; supplemented with, of course, many beauty products. The ad shows the girl using her sexuality to get the guy, and the ad says that other young girls can have that opportunity as well by buying the product.
The ad also used a need for prominence appeal. Not only does it tell girls that they can use their bodies to be popular, but it says that the product specifically will make them more respected and prominent. Gucci has built up a reputation among young people by having rappers and other forms of music and media constantly talk about them. They even managed to make 'Gucci' a slang term for 'good.' Gucci products are also insanely expensive, so the combination of cost and reputation makes Gucci seem like a high-quality company. People that wear Gucci products feel like they will achieve recognition of this socially because of this belief.
I disliked this ad very much. Ads like this are destroying American culture. Making young girls feel both that they need to be popular and that the way to get there is through their bodies turns girls into sexualized 'bad girls' at an alarmingly young age.
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