Reebok has recently launched an ad campaign for its new EasyTone shoes that tone your "butt" while you walk. This ad is obviously aimed at women (as is evident by the female protagonists as well as the subject matter), but is marketed from a male's point of view: women are viewed as objects (or, more accurately, as parts of objects- there value lies in the shape of their boobs/butt as these are the focus of the ads). Thus, while the product itself is for women, it is marketed to appeal to men.
The above ad shows the camera focusing on the main woman's buttocks, and she eventually sees it as a complement. She completely disregards the fact that what she was saying (i.e. what she actually had to contribute) was insignificant, and that her body is the main source of her appeal. She accepts that she is a sex object, not a person.
This ad, on the other hand, makes the sexism overt. The woman is no longer seen as a person, but as boobs and an ass. She is left voiceless, while her boobs "bitch" (because, of course, women contemplate nothing other than the downfall of others) about her butt, which they claim is getting too much attention.
These ads unnerved me particularly because of my recent visit to the "Journey" exhibit outside the Silver Center. This exhibit aims to showcase the plight of those forced into prostitution and to shed light on human trafficking.
The view of women as less than human has been overtly expressed by Reebok, but it has been made socially acceptable due to its "comedic" nature.
it's pretty sad that two years from when you wrote this post, reebok is continuing to make sexist advertisements for those damn shoes.
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