When the FDA legalized birth control as a contraceptive in 1960, the attention of women was immediately drawn to emerging sexual freedoms. As such, the Yasmin poster appeals to women during this time through an air of popularity, attraction, and achievability. First, the author portrays one woman amidst several adoring men. This immediately highlights how birth control, by empowering women sexually, will make them popular among men. Second, by dressing the woman provocatively (for the 1960’s), the author associates attraction to sexual freedom and birth control. He implies that with the newfound sexual freedom born of birth control, consumers would suddenly be more desirable. Third, by highlighting the ease with which women may start birth control, simply “Ask[ing] [their] doctor about yasmin on [their] next visit”, the author promotes accessibility to this new freedom. With these three points, the author is aware of and reliant on many sentiments that women may have held during the 1960’s, and he uses this knowledge advantageously to promote the product.
-Race Saunders
I think you did a really nice job in thoroughly explaining who the targeted audience of this ad was. I really like how you explained the three main ways that the ad is directed to the women and how it should come across to them and make them feel. Perhaps, if you hyperlinked an article that described more background on the contraceptive your argument could have been stronger. But other than that I really enjoyed reading your analysis.
ReplyDelete-Nidhi Kalaria
I agree with your analysis but I also believe that men were targeted in the advertisement as well. By having a women dress provocatively, it's telling men that their wives can look like that if they go on the pill. I think this does a great job of targeting both men and women.
ReplyDelete-Sammy Turk Tolub
I think your third point is excellent and many would not pick up on the power such a statement has in terms of selling people on their product. Ease and speed are a huge driving force in American consumerism and being able to get on birth control as easily as this ad seems to be suggesting may just be the aspect that seals the deal for many costumers.
ReplyDelete- Robert Dries
The audience in the 1960s I believe would have been extremely shocked by this ad. Majority of men would have most likely disproved of this message as it gives women sexual freedom and the liberty to make choices about their own bodies. I do believe secretly men would have been turned on by such an ad is it promoted more causal sexuality in their society. Women would have been empowered by it as birth control and the statement “that’s right boys…I’m on the pill” gives them societal acceptance to have the right to be liberally sexual.
ReplyDelete- Gabriella Boozer
DeleteThis is a fake ad, created using Photoshop. The original ad with Annette Funicello was for Coppertone, with the tagline "Coppertone gives you a better tan."
ReplyDeleteYou all need to work on your bullshit detectors. There's no way that Annette Funicello, former Mouseketeer, would have appeared in an ad for birth control in the early 60s, let alone an ad that implied she was ready to pull a train with a bunch of frat boys.
That conviction led me on a google search, which unearthed this article identifying the original ad: https://wonkette.com/548669/a-very-angry-guest-post-about-annette-funicello
Interestingly, much of your analysis in this little essay still stands if we look at the real ad. The ad DOES definitely present Annette F as the object of these young men's sexual interest, and it does present her as enjoying her "moment in the sun", as the center of attention. But the sexual subtext REMAINS subtext in the original ad, whereas in the fake one that subtext becomes all but explicit.