Jason Patton

PRAD 335
Advertising & Society
Western Values vs. Eastern Values in Advertising
As consumers, we interact with countless amounts of
advertisements on a daily basis. With such a large exposure to
advertisements, often as consumers we flip past ads, and pay little to
no mind. Being inquisitive about these advertisements can uncover
common values that are held to a higher standard, dependent on
eastern or western values. In western values, there becomes a
commonality in ads. Western ads often depict values such as: sex,
romance, youth, individualism, modernism, and hedonism. Also,
Western advertisements contain an emphasis on white faces, which
skews the perception of beauty, and lends the idea of whiteness as the
ideal form of beauty (Broenstein, 9/18/14).
For my first ad depicting western values, is an ad for Rogaine.
The advertisement contains a white male, leaning against a red brick
wall; the red brick wall can be used to enhance this idea of masculinity,
and modernism. All while Kenny describes how he took control of his
life while using Rogaine, with a strong emphasis on individualism,
pertaining to his own personal story using Rogaine. Underlying western
values in this particular ad, adhere to this idea of youth, romance, and
sex, all based on having a full head of hair, which implies this idea of
ultimate pleasure or hedonism. In my second ad, showing western
values is an ad for face makeup. The ad depicts a woman with blonde
hair, and blue eyes, passively resting on her legs. This advertisement
displays this ideal beauty of light skin and light eyes, while also
showing youth, with makeup that perfects aged skin. Also, an ad for
face makeup evokes a sense of romance, and sex with the woman,
who appears to be nude. All while displayed on a white backdrop with
creates this pureness, with the relation to youth. All these western
values can be found abundantly throughout advertising.
On the other end of the spectrum there are advertisements that
are more focused on eastern values. Eastern values often depict: a
sense of community, family togetherness, well-being of others, social
well-being, and respecting elders, and traditions (9/18). My first ad is
for Cavit, an Italian wine collection. This ad depicts a group of friends
or family, all sharing a meal together, which appears to be a vineyard.
Two ad copy elements enhance the idea of eastern values in the ad;
one being when quality matters, this automatically makes me think
family matters along with the image enhancing this idea. Also, at
the bottom the ad copy reads where you come from matters
This ad copy plays both into the idea of this Italian wine, and the
actually sense of where the consumer may come from, from a place of
tradition, and togetherness. In my second Ad for Uncle Bens, the ad

Jason Patton
PRAD 335
Advertising & Society
depicts a cartoon father, and son, measuring out rice. The ad is done
that the cartoons appear to be racially ambiguous. The ad copy reads,
You cant measure the importance of teaching them to cook. This
idea of spending family time together, and teaching kids to be self
relying, and respecting elders, can all be found in the ad. From the way
the father is embracing his son, and teaching him, as the son is
engaged in what his father is teaching him.
With advertisements flashed in our face, almost every moment of
the day, its important to be aware in which values are being portrayed.
Questioning ads, are important, and understanding western vs. eastern
values in advertisements. This can lead to an overall better
understanding of the ads, but the world around us too.

Jason Patton
PRAD 335
Advertising & Society

Teens and Advertising

As consumers we can often be oblivious to the countless products that are
advertised to enrich our daily lives. Were even more oblivious to the targeting of
products to children and teens. Products are advertised to children and teens promote an
ideal sense of: beauty, coolness, status, gender norms, and fun, etc. Analyzing
advertisements targeted towards teens, supports the affects advertising can have on their
sense of self.
For this assignment I sought out the latest issue of Teen Vogue, which prior to, I
have never read. From the first turn of the page, the magazine is filled with products
from high end designers, make-up, beauty products, and sexualized products, such as
jeans. All these advertisements contained in a magazine targeted toward females starting
at early teens. The particular ad I choose to analyze is an ad for Bvlgari Jewelry. Bvlgari
is a high-end luxury brand, in which most of us would be lucky to even look at in our
dreams. The jewelry starts at few thousands of dollars, which is bit of a reach for a teen
who cant even legally work yet, or for the teen who makes minimum wage at the local
grocery store. The Bvlgari ad is an excellent example of how advertising promotes
materialism views in teens, as explained in the article Effects of television advertising
on materialism. Authors Buijzen and Valkenburg explain how this expressed ideology
of possessions, beauty, success, and happiness, through advertising, leaves teens with a
strong desire for these desirable qualities, and can only be attained by material goods.
Without obtaining these material possession, teens have this misconception that they will
be unhappy, less successful, or less beautiful, overall affecting their own idea of selfworth (p.3).
For the second advertisement I turned to my own workplace Topshop to analyze
the companys, choice behind their latest ad campaign, featuring the face of the season
model Cara Delavigne. It wasnt until we started talking about teens, and advertising
that I realized that the face of the brand or company, represents a lot more than what is
plastered in the store windows. Cara has had numerous ad campaigns with top retailers in
the world, and she can be spotted in countless ads down Michigan Avenue alone. Cara
represents and helped gained a target market, which Topshop was missing in America.
Many young teens recognize Cara for her uniqueness, coolness, beauty, edginess. If a
teen can obtain the clothes, which Cara wears they too can achieve this idea of beauty,
and coolness. A first hand example would be when Topshop here in Chicago launched
our windows displays, that weekend we produced more sales than we had produced to
the prior Black Friday. Young teens, and mothers flooded our store. Young teens seeing
Cara sparked this need for the Topshop brand, which often required asking mom please
Mom, I need this. This can relate to the concept of parent-child conflict. The teen has
this idea in their head that they wont be happy without the material items, but often by
request of the parents. Frequently parents denying requests, creates an unhappiness

Jason Patton
PRAD 335
Advertising & Society
within a child, and sees the parents as an obstacle of achieving this ideology idea of
beauty, and success (Buijzen and Valkenburg p.4).
After looking at teen advertising, it became clear, that children, and teens are
often exploited by advertisers. Ideologies are sold through advertising, prompting teens to
seek out these ideologies in material things. With a mentality that without these material
things, they start to question their own self-worth. At a young age, consumers are
oblivious that often they are being targeted, which brings up the ethics of advertising.
Arguably Teen Vogue, the magazine is an advertisement itself, prompting readers to grow
with the magazine, and eventually moving on to read regular Vogue. Taking a step back,
and realizing how heavily we are advertised as young kids, and teens, I can recall
material things, which I often needed because it was cool, and it would make me
happy, but those of those material items are around at this age. The whole idea is mind
boggling.

Race and Advertising

Being more aware, and observant of advertising has lead to
insights how advertising still displays, and depicts whiteness, and
white beauty; with a lack of diverse models and/or actors used in
advertising campaigns. When prompted to use models/actors of color

Jason Patton
PRAD 335
Advertising & Society
in advertising, one who seeks to notice these things, can see how
uninterested the company or brand is, by providing the token model
of color, by simply placing them into the background often not
interacting with the main subject, who often appears white. For this
assignment I chose to do two ads with the main subjects being women
of color, being a positive movement in the advertising industry, but at
a closer analysis even these advertisements alter the womens images
in the ads.
For my first ad, is taken from Teen Vogue, for Givenchy featuring
Alicia Keys for their new perfume. For a previous paper this ad stood
out to me, because this was the only ad in the magazine where there
was a women of color featured in an advertisement. When first
discovering this ad, I was excited for something different. After
critically thinking about the ad, I thought about how often Alicia Keys is
known for wearing her hair in fun, funky, braids, which was replaced
with a side sweep hair. The appearance of her skin seems to have been
lightened. All these factors making her appear more white. I feel
weird about this ad, because Im happy it is a woman of color, but still
they still changed, an already beautiful woman.
For my second ad, I sought out an ad with an ethnic group, which
is often never represented in advertising, Native Americans. This ad is
for Puma shoes, with South American flair, the ad features a Native
American model Jade Willoughby. Often Native Americans are seen as
exotic in which it keeps people unsure of what their particular race
may be, along with them filling a quota of an ethnic model.
Referencing back to the Puma ad, Jade is depicted as Brazilian. In an
interview I read, Jade describes how model agencies often dont know
how to take her, because she doesnt fall into this black, and white
binary. So again, its great that Native American models are getting
work, and becoming sought after. But it brings up the question of are
they losing their heritage, or who they are, because they are often
depicted that of Latino, or other races in ads, or the token ethnic
model, representing a wide array of ethnicities in advertising.
After taking a look at race in advertising, I notice ads all over the
city, magazines, online, where there is often that token ethnic person,
in which the ad companies I feel they often put in their ads to be more
diverse. But Im noticing more often than not it isnt in good taste.
Im interested to see as the population becomes more mixed, how
advertising will change in the future.

Jason Patton
PRAD 335
Advertising & Society
Gender in Advertising
From an early age, advertisements greatly influence the ideology of principles
upon gender in children and what is expected out of them in society. These ideologies are
learned through toy advertisements, and continues into adulthood, displaying whats
considered the ideal idea of masculinity, and femininity. For years women have been
objectified in advertising, and now in recent years so have men. These ad's depict models
in ways, the normal person could not achieve. But the idea is by buying into a product
with the skinny model, one can also achieve this "skinny" feeling, which is often
unattainable.
For my first ad, I chose to analyze the the advitorial in the recent issue of Flaunt
magazine, in which their is a spread which was all over social media of Nick Jonas,
recreating the famous Marky Mark for Calvin Kelin ad. The ad shows the youngest Jonas
brother in power stances, flexing his muscles, half naked, grabbing himself. I feel this is
an interesting ad, considering Nick was this skinny Disney Child star, who lacked sex
appeal, and now appears as this brut hyper-masculine man. Relating this to the reading,
An Analysis of Hyper-Masculinity in Magazine Advertisements, there is a strong depiction
of men displaying this ideology of what a man is. This ideology of of toughness,
moodiness, and this type of danger, is what makes a "man". Also the way man are
displayed in ads, in which models boast well defined muscles, and very little body mass
at all, is displaying these "desirable" body types, and what is expected, and considered the
"norm". I feel like this idea of hyper-masculinity is interesting, because within one of the
communities I come from, body image plays a huge roll in the gay community.
"Masculine" features, and bodies are considered more attractive than that of someone
who may don't boost a proudly defined six pack. I think these ads greatly impact the gay
community, because it is this ideology that is displayed not only to men, but also maybe
even more to gay men, and what it means to be a gay men. Within the community there is
a lot of discrimination, with body type. The idea of masculinity in the gay community, is
a complex problem, that is partially reinforced by this advertisements. I think it would be
interesting to create Goffman's symbolic behaviors for men. The power pose, the power
lean/lay, the moody withdrawal, the smoldering stare, and the masculine touch/ no touch.
For the second ad I chose to focus on an ad for 7 for all man kind, which I can
only assume it is a jeans company, by the lack of other clothing articles. It stars
supermodel Miranda Kerr, the contrast between these ads are so apparent. Miranda Kerr
seems shy, passive, helpless, and sexualized, a whole different mood, and feeling than the
Nick Jonas ad, even the displaying of sex. Goffmans symbolic behaviors are instantly
notable. Her engaging gaze, while peering through her tousled hair, with the feminine
touch, as she turns away from the camera, while her hands, and arms, daintily cover her
chest. I knew that women were sexualized in advertising, but I can definitely note now,
drastically it almost all boils down to Goffmans symbolic behaviors. Flipping through
magazines I can name the symbolic behavior off the top of my head, and I realize how
predictable it becomes.
As I continue to flip through magazines, I almost see every unit we have covered
through magazines, and how redundant ads become. It is very interesting to think of the
way that women and men are depicted in advertising, and how it starts at an early age,

Jason Patton
PRAD 335
Advertising & Society
and carries onto adult hood. Also taking into account the idea of race. Everything is
coming together, and how it all overlaps, and connects.