How can car advertising be reconfigured to target the female unconscious?
Introduction:
The initial aspect of this essay aims to give a brief introduction and understanding of Psychoanalysis and what affects this has had on consumer society. later progressing onto how one man discovered he could use Psychoanalysis to control and manipulate the masses.
The first chapter gives a real understanding of the key terms associated with psychoanalysis, this then progresses to look at some of the key thinkers and opinions on Psychoanalysis the two real pioneers, Sigmund Freud and Edward Bernays.
Moving on from here to look into how psychoanalysis has been applied to advertising and what significant changes have occurred because of this. This section goes onto really focus in on how it’s applied to car advertising specifically. Gaining understanding on this by looking into primary research methods, visual analysis and interviews, this will really define and outline the key psychoanalytic techniques used to target the unconscious mind of the consumer. There have been many arguments along the lines of these subjects, this essay displays and analyses the contrast in opinions.
The final chapter of this essay focuses mainly on the exploration into the female unconscious, The female gaze, does it even exist? This should help explore and explain what considerations, techniques and direction is taken when designing to target the female unconscious rather than the male?
As members of a consumer society, throughout our life we are continuously confronted and faced with images that are all intending to sell products or services to us. We are constantly persuaded to purchase goods that are not necessities in everyday life, but rather commodities that will fulfil our desires. In order to understand this we must look at the way our consumer society works and how persuasion works. We must look into the history behind capitalist culture and in particular how psychoanalysis is used by the advertising industry to maintain and progress with customer demands for commodities.
It was initially Karl Marx that declared that there are multiple relationships that are apparent within society, social relationships connecting people, and also the relationship between individuals and the products of their work. With the growth and success of capitalism it is without doubt apparent that relationships have been broken and social relations are now seen as being predominately a relationship between people and money, a result of, labour today is viewed only in terms of the value that it will add to raw materials a quote to back up this argument “The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas, i.e. the class which is the ruling material force of society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force. The class which has the means of material production at its disposal, has control at the same time over the means of mental production, so that thereby, generally speaking, the ideas of those who lack the means of mental production are subject to it. The ruling ideas are nothing more than the ideal expression of the dominant material relationships, the dominant material relationships grasped as ideas.” ‘Karl Marx. The German Ideology 1846’ What this means is that the relationship between people and money has effected social relations as the person with the most money and or "Material" holds the dominating power.
For there to be a successful capitalist economy, there would need to be a continuous demands for commodities being produced. The advertising industry has facilitated the expansion of consumer demand for products by learning what encourages consumer behaviour. As a result of this some techniques used within psychoanalysis are employed by the advertising industry to capture and persuade the consumer’s unconscious desires.
Psychoanalysis is most commonly used as a tool of therapy with intentions to give the person a real insight into their unconscious desires and motives. This was of great interest and the works of Sigmund Freud.
Psychoanalytic theory states that most if an adult’s personality sources from a deep conflict between a person’s desire to satisfy their physical needs, but also to function as a responsible part of society. Freud stated ‘that the conflict is carried out in the mind by three structures; the id-super ego and ego. Through this conflict the psyche is organised into functional zones. It is these three models that make up the Freud’s structural model of the Psyche.
Freud found that the id is completely based on instantaneous gratification. It works according to Freud’s pleasure principle. "Within Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality the pleasure principle is the driving force of the id that seeks the immediate gratification of all needs wants and urges, including hunger, thirst, anger and sex when these needs are not met the result is anxiety and tension." (Freud 1919) The person’s action is guided by the want and wish to take full advantage of this pleasure. On the other hand the superego is the counterbalance to the id and is a person’s conscious thought. The ego is the structure that is the real control between the id and the superego. Lacan returns to the subject of the superego in his 1953 -1954 seminar; he locates it in the symbolic order, as opposed to the imaginary order of the ego: "the super ego is essentially located within the symbolic plane of speech. The superego has a close relationship with the law, but this relationship is a paradoxical one. On one hand the law as such is a symbolic structure which regulates subjectivity and in this sense prevents disintegration. And on another hand, the law of the superego has a "senseless, blind character, of pure imperativeness and simple tyranny." Thus the superego is at one and the same time in law and its destruction." (Wright 2000)
Lacan states that the super ego is the Law, so the super ego is a form of moral guidance that is socialised within us. It is stated that the ego attempts to stabilise the fight between the conflicting forces, by discovering actions to please the id and still be acceptable within society. Freud found that conflicts between the id and superego occurred at an unconscious level, so it is assumed that a person may not know of the motives that underlie all of their actions and behaviours. The ego is the most conscious part of the human psyche within Freud's model. It is the zone where we maintain our sense of self/identity. The ego does not aim to establish a balance so much as it provides a realistic and socially realistic and socially reasonable passage for unconscious motives. This does not specifically mean that we all succumb to our unconscious drives however to some extent we do. The super ego which tells us what is morally correct this is also very powerful, more so than the ID. Freud went onto explore the mechanics of the unconscious mind in the course of his dream studies and two of his works have been of real significance to the advertising industry. For example symbolism is commonly used in advertisements just as dreams use symbols that in turn represent a person’s unconscious desires. Symbols allow the mind to work in a completely different way to the rational mind, and only at a figurative level does a symbol hold meaning. Freud stated that, the deeper meanings related with symbols are beyond conscious judgment. The Freudian viewpoint implies that 'the ego always relies on the symbolism within products to compromise in between the demands of the id and the prohibitions of the super ego.' (Freud The Ego and the id, 1923; 1930) Thus, advertising frequently uses symbols to communicate the messages that would otherwise be unmanageable or problematic.
The unconscious mind makes links between the symbols and the desires through association. Freud discovered that two aspects can relate simply because they occur simultaneously. However this association may be forgotten the connection remains within the unconscious mind. Freud's insight emphasises the prospective importance of what we call unconscious motives that are the underlying purchases and how symbolism and the association can be used by the advertising industry to really ensure that there is a constant consumer demand for commodities.
The Phallic and what it symbolises.
It was proposed during the nineteeth century, that during a girls psycosexual development years, girls develop a strong envy towards the males Penis, This jealousy combined with the desire to posses one is so strong that they are driven from being homosexual to heterosexual in most cases.
This is one of Freud's many theories, he believes that during the Psycodevelopment stages in life. from the age of three and a half years up until the age of six, at this point in life the focus of attention for both male and female is the male penis, From this point different psychological mechanisms occur in boys and girls. During this time it becomes apparent that the boys love for the mother is jeopardised by the stronger male father, so attention quickly goes onto other females, however freud stated that this is different for the females as shown here.
"As for the girls, they are initially homosexuals and develop sexual desire toward their mothers. But they realize by the age of 3.5 years that without a penis, they cannot establish sexual relations with her. So they crave for penises and develop envy towards the male genitals. It is then that their sexual attention shifts from their mothers toward their fathers and they move from being homosexuals to heterosexuals. But they also fear their mothers’ wrath (which would strike if they establish sexual relations with the father) and hence begin to focus on other males." (Freud 1905)
It is believed that as a result of this realisation it becomes a defining moment for the gender and the sexual identity of the woman.
Now that the penis envy theory is explained it is now time to move onto what the Phallus itself represents and signifies. The phallus itself as a symbol is meant to represent Male generative powers. Freud is know for stating that, while the males posses a penis, no one can possess the symbolic phallus. Lacan went onto explain the phallus in his Ecrits: The significance of the phallus. within this writing he articulates the difference between "being" and "having" the phallus. The male figure is positioned as the one in possession of the phallus. Women on the other hand, seen to not posses the phallus but "be" the phallus. What this implies is that the male figure will always desire whatever it is to make him powerful, and the woman strives to become what it is that is desired. So the females desire and eventual satisfaction is based on the attention of and control over the male.
Desire of the other
Lacan stook by the belief that desire is the desire of others. this formula isn't the triviality that humans desire others, when they sexually desire because this is not necessarily true. By developing Freuds's theories of sexuality, Lacan's disagreement is more about what psychoanalysis shows us about the human beings need to discover how and what to desire. It is Lacanian theory that does not deny that young children are always born into the world with the basic needs that need constant satisfaction. Lacan goes onto argue that it belongs to humans to desire directly as or through another or others. We all relate to this when we think about fashion for example squabbling of children testifies, that it is possible for a specific object to gain desirability to an individual becasue they see that others desire it, such that others' desire is withdrawn, the object also loses its allure.
The first to apply theses psychoanalytic techniques to consumer society was Freud's nephew Edward Bernays. "Bernays was the first person to take Freud’s ideas about human beings and use them to manipulate the masses. He showed American corporations for the first time how they could make people want things they didn't need, by linking mass produced goods to their unconscious desires." (The Century of Self: Happiness Machines ep1) This quote simply depicts how Edward Bernays took all of Freudian theories and applied these techniques to advertising.
From this came a new political idea of how to control the masses. By satisfying peoples inner selfish desires one made them happy and thus docile. It was the start of the all-consuming self that had become to dominate today. Advertising successfully communicates meaning by association of symbols that represent individual desires with commodities. From the public perspective it may seem as the ad is displaying two objects with similar meaning, however 'it is only in the advertisement that this transference of meaning takes place.'2.8 (Judith Williamson: Decoding Advertisements) The advertisement may be using an already existing language or 'sign system', and by appropriating an association this is present in that system between the signifier and signified, advertisements are able to articulate its product in terms of the equivalent relationship. This is all achieved by making the association between the product and the signifier.
"The work of advertisements is not to formulate a meaning, but to communicate meaning by way of a 'sign system' that we familiar with. A result of this 'significance in one system can be used to create a new system of significance." (Barthes, R. (1973). Mythologies, transl. Annette Lavers Palladin Books)
Roland Barthes's work based on images, suggested that the meanings are formed through rules that govern the symbols, and although meanings might appear to be natural, obvious and immanent, they are in fact produced...they are constructed through identifiable processes of signification at work in all representations. This states that advertisements use differences existing in social traditions to produce real differences and distinctions between products.
Advertisements are preceded by the research of the market, this gives an insight into what it is that the public think about the products. During the 1950s, motivational research endeavoured to use the Freudian ideas to comprehend the deeper meanings that where the underlying the advertisement and the products. This approach was the real fundamentals based on psychoanalytic interpretations with a huge importance placed on unconscious motives. This research relied on comprehensive interviews and the behaviour of the customer, this was all investigated in order to determine each individual’s motivations towards the purchase. The resulting information was then used to develop the marketing communications that appealed to the individual’s subconscious desires. It provided an influential grasp that would really generate further consumer behaviour. By adapting Freud's ideas, the advertisers found that to persuade consumers, they had to tap into the unconscious minds of people. The implication was that the public could not necessarily verbalise what their exact motivation for selecting the product was.
A psychoanalyst named Alfred Adler stated that the most human actions are provoked by an individual’s desire to conquer feelings of inadequacy relative to other peoples. This shows that within a consumer society, a person will channel his or her unacceptable desires into acceptable outlets by using products that signify these underlying desires of inferiority This shows that as consumers, we all buy not to gratify our needs but our desires. We will always continue to buy because according to Lacan, our desires can never be fully satisfied. Consumer objects and products are best explained by their capability to excite desires and as a result, commodities have now become a way of defining ourselves. Psychoanalytic explanations of advertising and buyer motivations are notoriously reductive and although it gives an insight to advertising techniques and buyer motives it is not in any way the be all or end all of consumerism, as in reality, it does not matter how well constructed an advertising campaign is it is all down to selling the product, if the product is poor the product will most likely not sell.
It is said that most of all psychoanalytic applications within advertisments and marketing are linked or associated with the sexuality of commodities. The most widespread need is to feel sexually attractive, so to relate a product with sex is the best way to sell it. Robert Goldman Gave an example using the L'Oreal ad for lipstick. The advertisement displays female lips against a predominantly white background. The eyes are shielded giving the ad a mysterious feel, her face is flawlessly smooth and the full red lips are slightly parted. The next aspect of the advertisement is very significant it shows a male figure with his back turned to the viewer. The ad supports a prominent ideological version of women that is defined by the male gaze, this suggests that male power and womens power over men is constituted through appearances. In this instance, the woman as an epitome of glamour and beauty and this is commanding the interest of the male by making herself and object of desire to the male.
These techniques are all used within the car advertising sector of society, the 1950's is when these techniques where really initially put into use, the ads where very effective in targeting the audience which at the time was predominantly the males. The ads did not specifically focus on selling the cars themselves but instead the ads where used to sell a life style, stating that with the purchase of this car you don't just get the product the lifestyle comes with it. And this is still commonly found within a lot of advertisements today. Case study (Fig 1) shows this perfectly.
Case study (1.)
Car Ad. Fig1)
The car ad above was published in 1952 this was a very important time for advertising in general, as war had just finished and there was a real emphasis on the sale of products, The advertising techniques that are used within these ads are used to target the unconscious mind of the viewer preying on the natural urges and impulses of the audience in this case it is the male unconscious that is targeted, sexualisation is the most common technique used and is still used within car advertising today. The analysis of this 52 Dodge ad shows many elements of psychoanalysis applied to this ad, the most apparent is the direct phallic symbolism that is erect from the car and also perfectly situated to represent the males penis, this is direct sexualisation, this is used to target the male audience communicating the power and sex appeal that comes with the purchase of the product. the placement of the woman is very significant as you can see she is shown clinging to the male from above with her hand grasping the car wheel or the phallic symbol as it can be interpreted. This depicts an image of the level of attraction achieved with the purchase of the product.
This sexualisation is carried on even within the typographic elements within the ad, But Darling...... they're staring at our new 52 Dodge This quote of speech is what the female is saying to the male figure. This to me backs up the sexualisation within the ad, the quote to me signifies that the couple are doing something they shouldn't be; this could be interpreted as dangerous driving or taking part in a sexual act. The female figure is basically reassuring the male that the public are looking at the new car rather than what is happening within it. Another key element is the way the couple that are depicted they are portrayed to be in love and enjoying their life together, this can be seen as a communication to the audience that with the purchase of this car will come the improvement and what is needed find the perfect relationship? As once again this is not the case. The placement of the couple is significant, the couple are depicted directly above the car this to me signifies that with the purchase of this product the only way is up, this is used to communicate the accent or progression that is achieved with the purchase of this product. This once again backs up a common saying that is heard throughout advertising Sex Sells.
Case study (2.)
fig2)
This image from the mass media particularly focuses on the nature of consumerism, desire and the unconscious displaying how car advertisement at this time targeted the male unconscious. As you can see the image displays the product situated in front of a huge house that is placed in the countryside at the time this was where the most wealthy and powerful people would live, this is not only selling the wealthy lifestyle but this is a direct symbol to represent power, and in turn the power the purchase of this product will grant, The tower that is apparent at the front of the house is a direct phallic symbol that brings the representation of power, the phallus is a direct symbol of this power. This is where penis envy comes into concideration "Women never bought Freud's idea of penis envy: Who would want a shotgun when you can have and automatic?" (Natalie Angier, 1999) This quote simply states that women have no need to be envious of the male. However According to Freud, this occurs when a girl realises that she has no penis "Girls hold their mother responsible for their lack of a penis and do not forgive her for being this put to a disadvantage," (Freud-1933) - Many women find this very offensive and female psychoanalyst Karen Horney and other feminist thinkers have described his ideas as distorted and condescending. What freud is basically saying here is that the woman is always envious of the man and the female then takes a step back and becomes submissive and he even states that females get sexual gratification from this male dominance.
There are aspects here that aim to sell are very apparent for example the representation of the American dream, this is communicated through the illustrated family that are placed behind the car, the family is shown looking happy and relationship seems strong this again is a statement that if you purchase this product not only will you become powerful and wealthy but you will live a happy life, looking closer at the image you will notice that the family is of a wide age range the image seems to represent a family of 3 generations looking happy and healthy together, the fact that 3 generations are displayed communicates that with the purchase of this product will not only bring you power, wealth, happiness but also you will live a long healthy life. None of which are necessarily true.
The fact that all of car advertisements of this era where illustrated is a key feature in targeting the unconscious in my opinion, I feel that when the audience where engaging with the advertisement it was seen as more effective if the people within the ad where fictional as it is then easier for the person to see themselves as that figure and put themself in that position sub consciously. The fact the Ads where illustrated also meant that colour could be brought into effect very simply for example the image above displays a lot of white especially the car but also in combination with the house white is commonly used as a colour that represents purity, peace and the most associated with heaven this is used within the ad to represent the happiness the product will bring and to represent the quality of life you will live after the purchase of this product.
During the 1950's and specifically after the war, it meant the males who where once at war returned home and rejoined their roles working within society. For the majority of the female community this meant that they would be living much more domestic lifestyles working at home, the male community on the other hand went back to working the manual labour jobs and where the ones bringing the money into the house. All of this had a huge effect on advertising, due to the fact after the war consumer needs rose dramatically. Advertising had specific target market, the male buyer. Advertisements where specifically aimed at men and from the analysis above you can see the psychoanalytic techniques that are used are in many cases re occurring, There are specific themes within psychoanalysis that are used to really target the male unconscious directly targeting the desires of man. For example the main feature being sexual desires in the majority of cases a car ad would feature a dominating male figure that is in partnership with a female figure in all cases a very beautiful woman, now the woman has nothing to do directly with the product being sold however just a psychoanalytic technique to persuade the male to buy the product. The ad is simply selling a lifestyle rather than the product, however this still communicates that with the purchase of the product comes this desired lifestyle. Another reoccurring theme that is commonly found within advertising for men, is the phallic symbol. This is used to communicate one thing, and that is power. "A representation of the penis and testes as an embodiment of generative power" (Webster’s New College Dictionary 2005 P844) the use of the phallic symbol within car advertising specifically is very significant. The Phallus is always found to be found erect from the car itself this quote not only backs up the communication of power but juxtaposition within the advertisement always communicating that with the purchase of this car will not only come power but also the prospect of sex.
On the other hand Like Freud said "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." (Freud 1950) What this is saying is it is very easy to look to deep into advertisements looking for some kind of psychoanalytic technique that may or may not have been used, but to be honest is there any advertisement out there that doesn’t contain some sort of subliminal message? Overall it has become apparent that there are two main themes within psychoanalysis that are used during the 1950's to sell cars. However we are not living in the 1950's anymore and women are working the same jobs and earning the same pay roll as the men, so once again there is a change in advertising. During the 1950's it was easy to point out the psychoanalytic techniques used to target the male unconscious. This got me thinking about what techniques are used to target the female unconscious. Would it be the same as the men’s but Inverted? Or would it be something completely different and taking a different theme or route within psychoanalysis?
Moving onto a much more modern ad, as you can see within Fig 3 the sexualisation of car ads has developed over time, taking much bigger risks and putting sex in the face of the viewer. The direction of this ad has connections to the two previous ad (fig1 and fig 2) in the way the ad sells something other than the product it sells a lifestyle.
The ad attempts to communicate the brands image and personality, it is communicated that people and products have personalities and this personification is literal with the introduction of the car image covering the woman's face. BMW have stated that "the ultimate attraction" is the product they produce, the female is still the attraction, just not the ultimate attraction. This campaign adds sexiness and daringness to BMW's image. This simply makes the consumer justify the purchase of the product based on desirability. "Owning a BMW is like dating the hottest girl in school, everyone dreams of it. but only a select few can experience it" The desirability comes from others the perceived view that you will become the ultimate attraction with the purchase of this product.
Sexualisation isn't the only technique used within this, the power is signified by the BMW covering the woman's head, even more than the male figure. this breaks the rules as in most cases in previous ads the male figure is always dominant and all powerful. The fact is the message that is communicated by this os that when you drive a BMW, you are in control and hold the key and posses that dominance and power.
What this analysis is stating is that the BMW is the ultimate machine because it is "The ultimate attraction." With the purchase of this product everyone will notice you, people will desire you and the car is shown to establish a dream lifestyle with its purchase
It is apparent that sexualisation is the key psychoanalytic technique used within advertising this is always used to target the male unconscious, is this the same for the female audience, is the key to selling the product sexualisation?
as we already know the id consists of our most basic animalistic drives and instincts, it is with the focus on aggression and sexual energies. The specific area of the id that gets most of the attention is the "Libido", this is a human beings sex drive. There are a range of opinions on sex and psychoanalysis, containing relevance to the advertising industry. Two of the most contrasting opinions are that of Sigmund Freud and Karen Horney this supplies an insight to a view from both sexes. Starting with freud, he believed that men and women are the same. Only when it comes to their reproductive organs do they differ, He also believed that men and women are equal, both having specific body parts that all contribute to the distinction of the individual in terms of gender. The characteristics of the male is active and the females passive. A perfect demonstration of this is the sperm and the egg, the male is always in pursuit of the female. Women suppress their aggression because of the social expectations and this produces a sort of sexual gratification from being dominated. Freud attempted to use psychoanalysis, to explain how women "develops from a child with bisexual disposition" (Freud 227)
This is where Horney's beliefs differ, she put a huge amount of emphasis on the environment in the development for a persons character. She pushed women to have a look past their femininity and see themselves as humans instead. Horney believed that women have been metaphorically castrated by society, due to the forced control they receive from the males. I feel this directly linked to advertising and car advertising is the perfect subject, women where objectified and used to sell products given a submissive appearance the woman is simply used to target the male unconscious using sexualisation to sell the product appearing as an object or a product that came with the purchase.
In contrast to Freud's opinion on penis envy, Horney gives a possible reason for the presence of penis envy in women, This it that women often express certain hostility towards men, this is often displayed within the desire to achieve an equal status with men and gain the same level of success. Horney strongly opposed these and stated that what appears to be a desire to the males is equality in society. Horney goes onto criticise Frued by stating that he puts too much of an influence on the subconscious mind. Horney believes that these desires are relevant and there is absolutely no need for women to push them aside or to try and suppress them.
From this contrast in argument it has become apparent that women seek equality to the male figure, moving away from the stereotype female, this links to advertising as, this would suggest that to target the female unconscious the ad would be from the point of view of a powerful figure within society, this makes you wonder if the same sexualisation but reversed would this target the female unconscious then making her desire the same dominance the males have, giving women the power. As shown freud disagrees with this and states that suppressed aggression give the females a sort of sexual gratification from being dominated this shocks me and offends many women, his male opinion is seen by many to depict the stereotypical submissive female that is desire of the male. This is seen all throughout advertisements today that are aimed at the male audience. However Horney shows that the female does not desire this, females desire the same as the male or with minor differences. It is interesting how Lacan's development of Freudian theories also could contrast with what Horney is stating, That with an ad the male always desires the phallus or the power for example, however the female desires to be the phallus so to become the power. The females power comes from the attention and desire given to them by the male.
Chapter 3: the female aspect, the female gaze does it exisit? would female orientated adverts be the same as male but inverted? or completley different?
Beginning by looking at some general examples of advertisement for women, as you can see fig 4a and 4b are two completely different ads for the same product, Example a shows a female figure who is the direct focal point of the ad and the back of a male figure. The juxtaposition of these figures is very important, look how the male has his back to the audience he is giving 100% of his attention to the female, she has his attention without even opening her lips, The typography within the ad supports this "Frankly one of the most subtle forms of communication is two indiscreet lips.” This communicates the fact that if you buy this product you will have the attention of men without having to open your mouth. This focus on attention is also communicated by the setting within the ad the dark area they are in, however she is lit up again making the focus "the Female" The woman within the ad seems to be in contemplation, communicating the fact she is thinking about what to do with this man. In turn i feel this communicates the power the woman has over the male figure, This ad is communicating the fact if a woman bought this product she would possess the power over man giving this product the element of desirability, This all relates the pleasure principle targeting the Id. making the product more of a desirable necessity for the woman, The communication of power is again backed up with the title "Don’t you just love being a woman?" This is once again just backing up the power the female figure has it’s as though it is her thought, but you would not know this from her facial expression, giving her an aspect of mischievousness the fact she is in control.
The Phallic symbolism is still there however with some slight alterations, within case a this is much more discreet manor, but is seems to be that the product is a direct representation of the man, The juxtaposition of the product within both ads is to represent the male penis, about to or in place to perform sexual acts. Again this is selling something that is not anything to do with the product but the communication of what will be yours if you purchase the product, is still very much there.
Case 4b, is a much older ad, and this is instantly apparent with the design of it, the initial aspect of the image grasps the attention of the viewer is the female figure, this approach is very different from the last for example the model within this is ad is staring directly at the viewer, directly targeting the advertisement at the individual specifically. In terms of sexualisation it is apparent a tremendous amount all over this advertisement. The simple fact that the woman appears naked but still wearing makeup and looking very glamorous it’s almost as though she has just undressed for the viewer. The most significant aspect of sexualisation has to be the juxtaposition of both the female lips and the lipstick itself. The direct alignment instantly communicates the sexual act or preparation to do so, in turn the Phallic representation of the product represents the male and the Lips and or model represent the female. Note how she has not moved she seems to be comfortable and in a natural relaxed position as if no real effort is taking place on her behalf. I feel this communicates that she is in power and whatever she wants comes to her. The main thing that is found from this analysis is how much advertising changes over time I feel the more modern the ads get, the female figures become much more independent and although they retain their desirability and sexual appeal to the men, they become more independent and more powerful. And it is this power through sexualisation and control over men that becomes the psychoanalytic technique that targets the female unconscious and creates the desirability for the specific product. So it seems that advertising for women in the majority of cases is as we predicted focused within the same psychoanalytic themes advertising for men focus on. With some specific alterations such as the fact Males desire the Sexualisation and power and all that comes with that, and Women desire the power but this seems to commonly achieve through sexualisation and the power they control with this physical attraction. This paints a very sexist picture that is the annoyance of many of women within society that it is seen that women strive to be the fantasy of the male. This is still apparent today but to nowhere near the extent of advertising in the past.
It is very important to see the picture from both points of view, The following quotations are taken from interviews with art directors and creatives currently working within the advertising industry, see full interviews in apendix, Interview 1. Rod Elms Art director at Saatchi & Saatchi states that "we try not to alienate anybody when coming up with ideas. I think that there has always been a 'female' voice in advertising on a generic level because, as research shows, women are the main purchasers of most products (everything from FMCG, white goods, holidays & fashion) not just for themselves but their families and partners. One area where there is a definite bias and the exception to this rule is the car market where men are the main deciders in the market, that is why you will find, with most makes of cars, the tone of voice is all about power and sexiness etc. This is what appeals to the male demographic in that particular market so nothing has really has changed over the years.” (Rod Elms, Saatchi & Saatchi 2012) What has become apparent is that females are commonly targeted within advertising as they are the main purchasers of commodities within consumer society, however this is not the case within car advertising. Rod explains how there is a distinct bias within the advertisement of cars, the majority are aimed at males communicating the same themes once again power and sexualisation. "The idea that car advertisements are tailored towards ‘men’ is true insomuch as they represent what is considered/accepted as ‘masculine’ (and masculine being an accepted quality of men) within that specific culture." (Jeniffer Tulip, HomeJames 2012) this quote taken from an interview with Jeniffer Tulip an art director based at homejames, she states that cars are perceived as a masculine theme and women are rarely involved within this women are commonly just used as an accessory of the product this is very true in relation to the previous analysis, it is apparent that if there is a change and car ads start to target the female audience, which should happen as there are more females on the road than men, the stereotype of women and cars will have to change.
She then went onto state "there is a female voice because there has to be if an advert is constructed around a ‘male/female,’ ‘masculine/feminine’ binary, but it is relative to ‘male’ eg. the constitutive outside. As we live in a patriarchal society, the female voice in this context is passive rather than active. Car adverts are tailored to appeal to a sense of heteronormative masculinity and imply that men should strive towards that and this is where women as active consumers are left out of the picture. Obviously, this is not a good thing." (Jeniffer Tulip, HomeJames 2012) This statement shows how car ads are designed for men to focus everything on masculinity, and for this reason women are pushed aside as consumers. The ads focus in on the male unconscious the car as a phallic symbol, the phallus symbol of power and dominance this is everything a man wants from a car. "I’m not really sure reconfiguring advertisements to target a female unconscious is actually very feminist or constructive as it means first women must again be objectified.” (Jeniffer Tulip, HomeJames 2012) This argues that before the a car ad can be reconfigured first women must be objectified, giving women the correct image as very capable drivers, also giving women the correct image not the stereotype models as seen so commonly within ads for men, but reconfiguration of psychoanalytic techniques to target the female unconscious and make the product desirable to her. This argument about the need for change is backed up by Amy Jowett's response where she stated "To really reconfigure car advertising the entire car culture needs to be occupied more by females. Not just for the sake of them being female but because they use and enjoy cars just as much as males, and yet television programmes like Top Gear are presented by males, and car industry shows include females only as models or promotional staff. Females see this and immediately feel excluded or at least severely marginalised, which is an issue that no amount of advertising can remedy." (Amy Jowett, HomeJames 2012) This shows how within society women are pushed away from the car industry and this without a doubt has an effect on the advertising, she has stated that before the ads can be reconfigured the image of powerful independent women must be introduced. "Some car campaigns have targeted females with success, such as the new Fiat 500 with its bold colours and unmistakeable (and very stereotypical) ‘female’ imagery, but in my opinion this is sexist to a degree - it only served to further reinforce the gender divide in the car industry as it’s telling us that some cars are for females, whereas the vast majority of others are for males. Female representation in car advertising certainly isn’t as sexist as it used to be by a long shot though!" (Amy Jowett, HomeJames 2012) This shows how some car ads are effective in terms of targeting the female audience but the cliche design choices and approach is offensive to many women. simply the fact that this car is just for women makes this in turn sexist. It is becoming apparent that the most effective technique of reconfiguration would be take the same approach as the male orientated ads but make subtle changes. She later reienforces this with the statement "Therefore what I would suggest is that in order to target the female unconscious, gender-neutral advertising is the only way to go. In an era where more and more females are sitting up and taking notice of, and riling against, ‘gendered’ advertising, no matter which gender it’s aimed at, it’s becoming more harmful to companies to target one over the other for products that are for both." (Amy Jowett, HomeJames 2012) Many must say i do not fully agree with this statement, why should females have only gender neutral advertising, it has become apparent from a range of analysis that the majority of adverts especially within the car industry are aimed at males, a change is needed and the female audience should be targeted directly as they make up the majority of product consumption within society today. This section goes onto explore advertising for women and how advertising can be reconfigured to target the female unconscious.
Advertising for women within the car industry?
It’s really quite a difficult task to find any car advertisements directly aimed women from around the 1950's, during this time women where seen within adverts commonly draped over bonnets wearing nothing but ball gowns or bikinis just reinforcing that "cars and women are men’s spoils" (Copeland, 2014) This quote simply reinforces that common image that cars were not for the woman it was a male thing. "When carmakers did appeal directly to women, the seesawed between portraying them as responsible capable drivers, and condescending to their supposed preoccupation with frivolities" (Copeland, 2014) This quote here is simply explaining that when the advertisers aimed the ads towards women they took one or two routes the first being to portray the woman as a symbol of power displaying them to be sensible and very capable drivers. The other route however was to run along with the current image of women within advertising. Some car manufactures even made handbags that came with the car. As you can imagine all of these products did not sell. This all carried on through to the 60s, during this time Ford went into collaboration with a cosmetics company as they came up with the concept of offering pink mustangs as prizes. "Wear a Mustang to match your lipstick" This groups women into a huge stereotype that it’s all about looking nice and making them appear as objects of vanity.
Fig 5 carries on this stereotype through a range of psychoanalytic techniques it shocks me to see how the woman appears in the same role as she is portrayed within advertising aimed at a male audience. She is portrayed as a sexual symbol, but who is this symbol aimed at? It seems again that she is portrayed as an image to grasp male attention, communicating the fact if she purchased this product she would gain the attention of the male. I personally don't think this is the way to grasp the female audience’s attention and it is in many ways offensive. As is the colour scheme that is used for this campaign the fact that pink is used to try and make the car more appealing is very stereotypical and in no way is this effective it just places more emphasis on the fact it all about appearance for women, this is simply not the case.
It has instantly become apparent that, it seems back in the 1950's and 60's the ads where mainly created by men, the women featured within the ads where still portrayed as sex symbols. Where they seem to care only about the appearance of the product rather than its functionality painting the image of a docile female character. However as social changes occurred women are no longer seen as inferior to men, from research i feel this is all down to the fact that statistics show that there are actually more female drivers out there than male. A great example of how advertising for women has changed within the car industry is perfectly displayed in this advert created by Renault. 2 adverts where published one aimed at males and the other at females.
The advertisement effectively explains how wrong advertisers got it when creating ads for women, it was thought that the way to grasp a woman's attention was to basically create an ad that stayed away with the technicalities of the product and focused mainly on the aesthetics of the product. As seen in (fig 5) simply by making the product pink and linking the product to cosmetics the advertisers thought this would be enough to sell the product to the female market. Instead it can be seen how the female audience would be offended. The stereotype of women within advertising was based purely on sexual attraction and physical aesthetics. It has also become apparent that women where used to sell products to men during this era, However this is not the case in terms of advertising for women. Women where still portrayed the same way and where still used to try and sell the female audience products, it was almost as though the advertisers thought women wanted this stereotype. These products obviously did not sell.
So moving onto the main focus of this essay is to explore how car advertising could be reconfigured to target he female unconscious, As you can see the majority of car ads that have been produced from the 1950's to present day are aimed at a male audience most using the same themes of psycoanalysis to target the unconscious, Sexualisation, Phallus and power. Car advertising is in many cases sexist to the female audience depicting them in a way that is stereotypical and are most commonly used as a tool to target the male unconscious bringing desire into the equation. However based on Lacans theory of the phallus he stated that it is a male desire to posses the phallus this in turn giving him the power and control he desires. his theory on the female mind on the other hand is very interesting Lacan stated that the female does not have the desire to posses the phallus but instead to become the phallus. "as feminine while wanting to be looked at as the phallus, she solicits the gaze by an affection of modesty, but the screen/mirror not only does not conceal but reveals what it should not: that in her feminine masquerade she is phallic." (Wright, 2000 p51 ) This states that a woman's unconscious drive is to be the desire of men, she can achieve this by becoming the phallus the ultimate desire of the male this in turn gives her the power.
Reconfiguration of a car advert to target the female unconscious is not a simplistic role reversal as found through previous analysis females are used to sexualise ads for men this is the main technique used along with the communication of power. However although we have found that the same themes are used, this should be communicated very differently, the male has the desire to posses the phallus gaining omnipotence all power, the female on the other hand strives to become the phallus this means to become the desire of men she receives the attention. I feel that advertisement (Fig 6) depicts this perfectly, the male orientated ad is highly sexualised with female figures acting provocative in only underwear, the male unconscious is instantly targeted making sexualisation the key theme, this is also apparent within the ad targeting the female unconscious, this is much more subtle and depicts the males all battling to get her attention in a much less sexualised manor.
The advertisement featured (Fig 6) This example is perfect in terms of showing how advertising has developed when it comes targeting the female unconscious. As you can see from these images the same techniques have been used to target both the male and female unconscious. This proves that women and men want for the same things. The id is targeted making the buyer see the product and a necessity and really giving the product the desirability it needs in order to sell. Once again the reoccurring theme is based around sexualisation. The idea of sex is what sells the product.
To conclude it has become apparent that sexualisation and power are by far the most common themes of psychoanalysis used within advertising, this is displayed perfectly within the car industry, sexualisation has been applied to car ads since the 1950’s. It is proven from previous analysis that this sexualisation is effective but when targeting the male market. The use of phallic symbolism, is used to communicate the power and most of all females are actually used to sell the product giving the female the stereotype, that within the car industry women as well as cars where mens spoils. Women do not really have a place within the market of purchasing cars. So advertising aimed at women where very ineffective as seen within fig 5, However with the development of society women now out populate males on the road.
This called for change as the advertisers must target the female market, would the same techniques be used? Or would they be completely different, that was the question. Based on Lacanian theory of the phallus the difference is not as significant as once thought between male and female desires. Where the man desires to posses the phallus the womens desires are based on becoming the phallus to be desired by men, she gains power with the attention and desire given towards her by the male. “As feminine while wanting to be looked at as the phallus, she solicits the gaze by affection of modesty, but the screen/mirror not only does not conceal but reveals what it should not: that in her feminine masquerade she is phallic” (Wright 2000) this quote explains how the woman strives to be the desire of the male, However the opinion of Amy Jowett explains how women strive for equality with the male. she suggests that equality is the only way an ad can be reconfigured. this quote “Therefore what I would suggest is that in order to target the female unconscious, gender neutral advertising is the only way to go.” (Jowett 2014) What this states is that in an era where more women are standing against gendered advertising, women just want to be displayed as equal to the men. This seems to be the most effective direction of reconfiguration by making the product both desirable for men and for women.
In summary I feel that it has been discovered that simple role reversal is not the key to targeting the female unconscious, an ad must depict the female on the same level of power as in the male orientated ads, also using the same level of sexualisation ensuring that the female is not depicted as a sexual object in anyway therefore giving the female power. If the same levels of sexualisation are used this would in turn still make the female the desire of men, the only change, the woman desiring the male attention as it is this what gives her the dominance and power. This is all backed up by Alfred Adler who stated that the most human actions are provoked by an individual’s desire to conquer feelings of inadequacy relative to other peoples. This shows that within a consumer society, 'a person may channel his or her unacceptable desires into acceptable outlets by using products that signify these underlying desires of inferiority' In other words desire is based on that fact others around you will desire what you posses this links to the female becoming the phallus to become what the male desires. So in terms of reconfiguration of car advertising, to target the female unconscious, sexualisation and power are still used however power is achieved with the attention of the male rather than the purchase of the product or Phallic Symbol.
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When creating ideas at the start of any new campaign we are, obviously, influenced by gender which is usually specified as our target market (or who we are talking to) in our initial briefing. Generally certain products lean towards a specific gender (Tampax and Lynx being obvious examples for both genders) and our language, tone of voice and visuals reflect this. When the product has a more universal appeal we try not to alienate anybody when coming up with ideas. I think that there has always been a 'female' voice in advertising on a generic level because, as research shows, women are the main purchasers of most products (everything from FMCG, white goods, holidays & fashion) not just for themselves but their families and partners. One area where there is a definite bias and the exception to this rule is the car market where men are the main deciders in the market, that is why you will find, with most makes of cars, the tone of voice is all about tech and sexiness etc. This is what appeals to the male demographic in that particular market so nothing has really has changed over the years.
I don’t think there is any doubt that advertising campaigns are influenced by the gender of those that create them, but on the whole the car industry is incredibly straight white male-dominated, which means that any advertising campaigns occupy this straight white male-gendered space no matter the gender of their creators.
To really reconfigure car advertising the entire car culture needs to be occupied more by females. Not just for the sake of them being female but because they use and enjoy cars just as much as males, and yet television programmes like Top Gear are presented by males, and car industry shows include females only as models or promotional staff. Females see this and immediately feel excluded or at least severely marginalised, which is an issue that no amount of advertising can remedy.
However that’s an answer for a what is probably a whole other different question. As a female, if I were to work on a car advertising campaign I would be consciously pushing the topic of being inclusive of females, whereas males may not consider this viewpoint as a priority, and therefore any female appearances or appeal may be entirely incidental or at least steretypical. Some car campaigns have targeted females with success, such as the new Fiat 500 with its bold colours and unmistakable (and very stereotypical) ‘female’ imagery, but in my opinion this is sexist to a degree - it only served to further reinforce the gender divide in the car industry as it’s telling us that some cars are for females, whereas the vast majority of others are for males. Female representation in car advertising certainly isn’t as sexist as it used to be by a long shot though!
Therefore what I would suggest is that in order to target the female unconscious, gender-neutral advertising is the only way to go. In an era where more and more females are sitting up and taking notice of, and riling against, ‘gendered’ advertising, no matter which gender it’s aimed at, it’s becoming more harmful to companies to target one over the other for products that are for both.
Firstly, I would recommend reading Judith Butler – Gender Trouble, this will ensure proper use and understanding of ‘gender,’ but also this will probably help with the construction of an argument and a really detailed analysis.
Of course, there is always a target audience that has to be considered with any campaign and this is often simplified and somewhat generic as appealing to masses implicitly means you cannot speak to individuals, despite the desired effect being to speak to an individual. It is relying on the individual’s interpretation of a representation (eg. a car advert) and so to an extent is conditional on that individual’s grasp of social norms and conventions (which are reflected through the ad) and how they situate themselves in relation to those norms before they can understand what they are seeing.
The idea that car advertisements are tailored towards ‘men’ is true insomuch as they represent what is considered/accepted as ‘masculine’ (and masculine being an accepted quality of men) within that specific culture.
As far as a female voice is concerned, it depends on how the viewer understands ‘female’ and of course, it does not necessarily mean ‘feminine’ so you need to ask, do you really mean ‘feminine’ or the ‘idealised female in western culture,’ as opposed to simply ‘female?’
So to answer your question, there is a female voice because there has to be if an advert is constructed around a ‘male/female,’ ‘masculine/feminine’ binary, but it is relative to ‘male’ eg. the constitutive outside (see Stuart Hall on Representation). As we live in a patriarchal society, the female voice in this context is passive rather than active. Car adverts are tailored to appeal to a sense of heteronormative masculinity and imply that men should strive towards that and this is where women as active consumers are left out of the picture. Obviously, this is not a good thing.
With the title, you first need to ask what is the female unconscious and is this ubiquitous?
I’m not really sure reconfiguring advertisements to target a female unconscious is actually very feminist or constructive as it means first women must again be objectified.
