The Portrayal Of Women In The 1980's

No one utilizes the power of sexual suggestion like car companies. In today’s world, cars have become a sex symbol, and in the race to sell their brands, the top players in the industry have tried to out-sex each other, at one point or another. Some ads don't even feature a car. Throughout the past 60 years car advertisements have changed significantly. The 1950’s used families to show cars were ideal and the way of the future, while the 1980’s and 90’s show biased “fact” based arguments and hints of celebrity approval. Today, the 2000s continue to enlarge celebrity acceptance and continue to make sex appeal more widespread mainly through the portrayal of women. According to Valerie Sperling, a professor at Clark University, “Women’s bodies have long been used in advertising to symbolize – and sexualize – products. Car advertisements frequently sought to link automobiles to women’s bodies, implying that male car owners would likewise be able to attract (or ‘own’) female sexual partners” (57). In today’s society, women’s bodies are constantly being separated from them as people and are viewed as objects of male desire rather than human beings.
The advertisers in this case used the grey and black variants because these colors are seen as being clean, classic, and sophisticated, which are all qualities they want the viewer to associate with their product. The backdrop of the advertisement is a gradient scale, starting at its darkest grey behind the woman, and slowly shifting to light grey behind the car. In the lighter portion of the backdrop above the car, the word ‘Jealousy’ is written in relatively small, black print. To complete this simple yet meaningful advertisement, a small description appears in the bottom left corner, while the Audi symbol balances it out, placed in the bottom right corner.
Thesis: Status symbol, relationship between man and car and