An Analysis of How Advertising Affects Females’ Self-Image - Specifically Focusing Upon Print Alcohol Advertisements

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2009 in the subject Communications - Public Relations, Advertising, Marketing, Social Media, grade: A2, University of Limerick, course: Business Marketing, language: English, abstract: Over the past 40 years advertising has grown rapidly, and today the advertising industry is worth over $400 billion. Advertising therefore has a direct impact on people’s lives, and print alcohol advertising is no exception. Advertising often reflects societal beliefs, but these beliefs are often misleading. Adverts portray flawless beauty in the form of female models, which leads to social comparisons being conducted by women. They compare their physical attractiveness, and if it doesn’t coincide with what they see, it can lead to poor self-esteem, a lack of self-confidence and even possibly developing eating disorders which are unhealthy. The alcohol adverts are also very sexual in nature, with women being shown to be very scantily clad or partially nude. This only acts to accentuate the portrayal of beautiful women by again drawing social comparisons. The adverts often show women and men engaging in sexual activities which were previously not seen outside of the world of pornography, but advertisers today are pushing the boundaries further than ever before. This can lead to both men and women believing that what they see in these adverts is what is socially accepted and what might happen if they consumed the product on offer. Print alcohol adverts tend to portray women as adorers to men, or purely as sex objects. The males in these adverts are often shown as in domineering positions, highlighting that women are seen as subordinate to men. A problem with men in this position is that fear may be instilled in women. Fear of rape and violence against women.