Male gaze

For this advertisement, I would like to do a media content analysis by looking at the production, language, representation, and audience of this ad.

Production: This ad was produced by Bacardi rum. The alcohol industry is notorious for using sexualized imagery to sell alcohol. They are mostly self regulated, however the content of advertisements is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission, which has the authority to prohibit unfair or deceptive acts/practices in advertisements. This mostly applies to misinformation though, so most often companies will take down an ad if it receives strong and vocal negative feedback. The male gaze eliminates women’s voice or agency in the ad.

Language: By leaving out the woman’s face, we are left with her sexualized body to stare at. The direct, straightforward shot of her stomach and breasts mimics the way a male would look at her. By having an alcoholic beverage in her hand, she seems fun and easy going. Her hand suggestively placed pulling down her pants exposes her leopard print underwear, implying that she is willing to have sex. Despite the blatant male gaze image, the tagline of the ad is also extremely concerning. The ad says, “Pussy cat by day. Bacardi by night.” This language implies that women are sexual kittens who only need to be released by drinking liquor by night.

Representation: This ad is claiming that liquor makes women sexual and free, and objectifies their bodies as subject to the male gaze. This is a truth commonly repeated in the media today.

Audience: The audiences of this ad are likely predominately men, as the ad is intended to mimic their gaze and imply that if they find a woman who drinks bacardi, they will get laid. However, it also has an effect on women. They see this ad, and want to be the sexy easy going bacardi drinking beauty shown in the ad that men are so dawn to.

In Taste Matters: Bikinis, Twins, and Catfights in Sexually Oriented Beer Advertising, Jason Chambers says, “representations of women are a visual conglomeration of their legs, breasts, faces, and hair. Such depictions reduce women to a less than human state because they are not shown as whole persons (162).” In the Bacardi ad, the women is only an object to be looked at and nothing more.

Chambers, Jason. “Taste Matters: Bikinis, Twins, and Catfights in Sexually Oriented Beer Advertising.”10. . 162., . . Print.