Ladies and Gentlemen: You Too Could Have It All

Marilyn Monroe, Marlboro Man, Hugh Heffner, Pamela Anderson, and The Rock are all examples of the society of idols whom the American public has looked up to in various media forms. In today’s society there are many gender and social stereotypes that remain a prevalent part of the advertising tactics of the media. In the particular ad that I have chosen are examples of gender stereotypes that I would like to analyze and discuss using Douglas Kellner’s article “Advertising Images”. Kellner states that the tobacco industry in both the past and present use subliminal messages with the intention of portraying lifestyles and choices to the American public. Cigarette ads in particular, Kellner argues, “contribute to identity formation in contemporary society” (188). In this analysis I will show that Kellner’s ideas of identity formation are located throughout the Camel ad that I will analyze.

In a Camel cigarette ad from Rolling Stone Magazine is the classic Marilyn Monroe pose with a woman standing center stage as men fawn all over her with smiles and outstretched hands. The woman is dressed in a high-class, strapless evening gown as she smokes a cigarette using a holder so she doesn’t blacken her gloves. She is blonde because “blondes always have more fun” and she has perfect hair, perfect teeth and a very flashy smile. The entire scene, a woman on a raised stage with men around, hands out stretched with tips, portrays the atmosphere to be that of a Strip Club or a Gentlemen’s Club where she might be performing on stage. The spotlight is on her as she seductively moves in front of a blue, sparkle curtain. The men located at the bottom of the ad are also very well dressed in suits or tuxedos. Good-looking gentlemen, they smile at the woman as they reach out to her with hands and trays of Camel’s finest in three different varieties. They all seem to be enjoying the show and offering her their gifts of pleasure in the form of cigarettes in exchange for their pleasure of watching her. None of the men in the ad seem to be smoking.

Kellner states that everything portrayed in the ad is a media ploy to “create an association between the products offered and socially desirable and meaningful traits” (189). The woman in the ad is being looked up to adoringly by several men; she is the spotlight, and steals all men’s hearts. Therefore, the ad is stating, subliminally of course, that if women smoke Camel cigarettes, they too will have men showing them this kind of attention and adoration. The fact that the woman is well-dressed and seemingly high society also adds to the desire of the “everyman” to attain “their very identity” (Kellner, 189) from the influences of this ad. What woman wouldn’t want power, status, perfect features, and men falling at her every move? And, of course, this can all be attained simply by smoking Camel cigarettes. Similarly the men are also being shown “socially desirable and meaningful traits” (Kellner 189). Men are being shown an existence where they could attain everything they so desire, a beautiful and sexy woman, a great job, as evidenced by their classy attire, and a happy lifestyle devoid of care and worry. These are definitely all characteristics that men strive to attain, and the ad is also promoting its product at the same time. There are two interpretations given of men in this ad. The first is that if men find a woman who smokes Camel cigarettes they will have everything they desire. The second is that if men purchase Camel for themselves, they can obtain everything. In either interpretation the existence of Camel is involved but the follow-up action is up to the individual consumer as to whether he chooses to use the cigarettes or not. This particular Camel ad “depicts how something as seemingly innocuous as advertising can depict significant shifts in modes and models of identity” (Kellner 193) and how it can speak to a larger public about the values and goals of life as a larger attainment.

The different marketing ploys in this ad are ingenious but if they were changed the overall message of the ad would be altered. For instance, if the woman currently at center stage were still placed in the center but the camera or drawing was in essence “backed-up” the woman would now be quite a distance away from the reader. In other words, she would be dwarfed in comparison to the stage and the men at the bottom of the stage. This would change the focus of the woman being the center of attention and now bring the focus to the men alone. Making the ad, which once spoke to both genders with promise and idea, now speak mainly to the male audience. This shift would almost entirely alienate the female audience because they would no longer have the promises of a sexy, high status existence. Instead, they are shown a world where men dominate and they are a pawn in the game of enjoyment