Critical Thinking Takes a Back Seat to Nostalgia Marketing
Recently I watched Cape Fear and could shake my head at the outdated premise of the need to bury a report of a victim’s promiscuous past, so that the sexual assault charge would stick. Wow I thought, how things have changed. Or not.
Movies, ad slogans, slang...perhaps we haven’t come very far at all. We can’t just blame the media however, as we must all take responsibility for critical thinking and that seems to be in short supply. An American brewery, whose billboards are showing up north of the border, essentially says buy x brand and get the girl. Discussion around this billboard has included statements such as “well, I don’t agree with the message, but the girls have been a part of their ads for a long time.” Or one comment indicated that the ad was iconic because of the way the women were displayed. Yes, displayed. Since the “girls” are clothed in classic 50’s garb, this is passed off as harmless and somewhat nostalgic. What exactly are we nostalgic about?
Second Hand Smoke Kills, So Does Gender Inequality
One woman told me that the ad is a classic icon of a time gone by. Would there be a similar fond amusement if we were to post a picture of that same can of brand x with a black man holding shoe shine supplies and a caption that read buy the beer and get a shoe shine. Shoe shines and the eager black “boy” is offensive; why is the 50’s willing gal any less so? Are we really ready to continue the messaging that anyone is available to be given or won?
What’s the harm you say, it’s just an ad? Really? Is that why smoking is no longer promoted? Just as the invisible waft of a cigarette makes its way to our lungs, so too does the implications of people who can be “won”, permeate our minds. Unless we, men and women, stand up and take notice and speak out against these messages, we will continue to suffer the effects of gender inequality.
Frances Hickmott
