In reading this article I was surprised to see the
ways beer was marketed in the fifties and sixties as opposed to the present
day. Upon first seeing the
advertisement on page three I thought wow
that’s different, and that makes me
want to drink a beer. As the
article says “beer
and liquor advertising engages in “lifestyle branding,” and certainly the
lifestyle that is branded on page three, of an awesome ski vacation is way more
appealing to me than mud wrestling twins.
Alas for me most beer is not marketed towards women, it is instead
marketed to the white heterosexual male. I understand that the advertisers are
mostly white heterosexual men marketing to white heterosexual men, yet I cannot
see the appeal that these men hope to create in other men. While I do understand the theories
behind the ideology used in changing the advertising with the social movements
that have taken place between the 1950’s and now, I just find it
insulting. While the fifties ideal
of a man was one who was successful in monetary and relationship status,
today’s ideal man is according to the article a “loser.” If I was a guy I would find the idea
that Beer companies and marketing execs believed that the way to sell me a
product was to produce a fantasy where I thought I was a loser, well I would be
insulted.
Another
point the article brought up was that “the context of alcohol consumption
provides an escape hatch that contains and rationalizes the eruption of
physical intimacy.” Using the Jim Beam ads as an example the
article talks of how men behave under the influence of alcohol as opposed to
sober. From my personal experience
I can say that the article got this phenomena, where men are very affectionate
towards one another under the influence, yet noticeably not so when sober, very
correct. I have seen this
phenomenon practically every weekend of my high school and college life. In class and during the day when men
are sober they will act nicely with their friends but not physically
affectionate. On the other hand
when they have been drinking men will hug their friends, slap them on the back
of the butt, or say “I love you bro” or some other version of that. While the article brings this point to
light for men only, I see this phenomenon happening with women in the same way,
as well as across the genders. Girls
will kiss other girls on the cheek or otherwise, they will grind on each other
or hold hands. While we may
dismiss this behavior more readily than boys because it is more socially
expected, it is still the same difference in behavior. Similarly I would say that I have
observed that both men and women are more affectionate with their friends of
the opposite sex inebriated as opposed to sober. Often this difference in expectation between the inebriated
and sober worlds creates awkward situations when the drunken behavior’s affects
spills over into the sober world. The
differences in behavior I talked about above make me think about some of the
other posts, and how we talked about in class that sexuality is maybe a more
fluid thing than society accepts. I
am not saying that men being affectionate is a comment on sexuality, but rather
a comment on gender expectation and maybe we need to examine how rigid the
expectations are for all sexes, especially in the alcohol ads, and perhaps the
expectations should be more fluid. Also when the article says in conjunction with the portrayal
of women in the Jim Beam ads that: “Girlfriends and wives are undesirable
because they push men to talk about feelings,” I am thinking isn’t that just what the advertisers were
implying that alcohol did to, or for men? So it makes me think that women are portrayed negatively in
alcohol advertising, not because women are in competition with masculinity
(though this is what the advertisers want you to think, because they are
playing off of the insecurities of shifting social issues) but because women
are in competition with the goals of the alcohol companies. On page 21 the article uses the example
of the Miller Lite ads where they put a woman and beer in direct conflict and
as the reader: “So if you had to make a choice, which one would it be?” Its only good business practice to
paint your competition as the lesser choice, essentially beer companies view
women as less than beer, and they are marketing their product that way. This is seriously disturbing. After all, a beer cannot give emotional
support, family stability, or sex to a man. Though from the advertising I think that the alcohol
companies want men to think it can or it can at least facilitate it in some
way.
Comment by Emily Hunter: I appreciate Gracie’s comments regarding the increased affection seen by men under the influence. I too have observed many situations in which men who are drinking feel no reserve when expressing emotion while intoxicated. Recently at a bar I watched as two athletic men hugged passionately and held each other on the shoulders while they spoke. The gestures seemed genuine and caring, something which they most likely would never have done if sober. I like that Gracie ties the fluidity of gender to the fluidity of sexuality we touched upon last class. I find it comical that while alcohol consumption allows for more fluidity in gender and sexuality, the advertisements used to sell this product actually restrict gender norms and sexuality, confining men and women within limited boundaries of masculinity and femininity.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe they actually made an ad where a man has to choose between beer and a woman. When you stop and think about it, it's rather disturbing and shocking that they'd even compare an inanimate object to an actual human being. I understand that they want to sell their product, but seriously? Not only does this imply that beer is better than women, but by setting up an ultimatum of beer vs. women, it implies that women, actual human beings, can be on the same level as a mood-altering depressant drug. Yes, it's supposed to be funny, but it internalizes misogyny and male supremacy in the viewers. Feminism has a lot of work to do in order to fight against these atrocities.
ReplyDeleteComment by Molly Bienstock
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your analysis of this article, Gracie, and I appreciated your personal story about the two men in the bar, Emily. I, too, have found myself in situations where I wonder about the pre and post behavioral changes due to the consumption of alcohol. I have encountered countless boys who have no problem showing their true 'bro' nature when under the influence and display a completely different guise when sober. This ties in with what Gracie said about the beer companies feeding into the viewers' insecurities. It's like all we can do when we're drunk is surround ourselves with the closest 'bros' as to ensure that no one's feelings will get hurt because their buddies will be there to protect them. I also think this relates to the notion of the lack of intimacy we have begun to foster in our modern society. No one wants to be in a relationship, no one wants to commit, no one wants to have to start to open up and share themselves and be vulnerable with another human because we haven't needed to in so long! Our highly industrialized society has allowed for its citizens to talk to robots and machines instead of people. Maybe this crisis can lend some insight into the mystery that is masculinity and solve some its polarizing problems.
Gracie, I completely agree with you on the comparison between the beer advertisements in the 50s compared to today's ads. It's been so engrained in society that drinks like "appletinis" are for females while a Guinness beer is for males. One can see this in Sex and the City. The only time you see one of the characters drinking a beer is while having take-out Chinese food (which is seen as grungy - aka, masculine) or while watching a football game at a sports bar. Other than that, all of the characters are depicted as gently holding a martini class filled to the brim with some pink or bright colored drink topped with some of fruit garnish. In a response above, I commented on the fact that beer doesn't talk back and that's why a beer will always win a guy over. However, I believe that you bring up an excellent point in that males want to have their cake and eat it too - they don't want to deal with emotional issues and they want sex. So, give a girl a beer and everything will work out in their favor.
ReplyDeleteEmily, in response to your question of why would ads about being a loser appeal to men, I think it is rather that the ads speak to inadequacies men already feel. There is a solidarity they feel with these "losers". As we have been talking about in class men feel an enormous pressure to live up to an unrealistic masculinity and with that pressure comes insecurity and feelings of inadequacy. I think beer ads in part, speak to these feelings.
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