Masculinity in Advertising

Have students access the student chapter Masculinity in Advertising – Ad Analysis and have students answer the questions.

When students have finished, have them access the student chapter Masculinity in Advertising – Decoded and go through the analysis with them.

What shapes do you see? What effect or meaning do they have?

On the second  slide, point out that  the most prominent shapes are triangles. In general, triangles are the most dynamic shape, compared to rectangles (which are stable and static) and circles and ovals (which are seen as comforting). This makes an overall effect of power and energy, but also a little bit of danger: the one prominent circle is the tire, which haloes the boy’s head to reassure us that the lifted car won’t hurt him.

How does the composition of shapes and images direct our attention? What are we drawn to look at?

On the third slide, show that the two most important composition elements are the car and the boy’s eyeline, both of which lead us to focus on the man – and, specifically, the bottle in his hand. Following the boy’s eyeline in the other direction draws a line between the bottle in the man’s hand and the bottle in the bottom right foreground.

What audience is this ad aimed at, and how can you tell?

Ask students who in the image we would most want to be. Highlight that the use of triangles and the way the composition directs our eye all show that the man is the focus.

Then ask: How does this ad try to convince men to buy milk?

Explain to students that one reason advertisers make gendered ads is so that they can sell you a solution: if you are anxious that you’re not masculine enough or feminine enough (or not “tough enough” or “pretty enough”) then buying something that feels masculine or feminine helps. It can also help reassure audiences that it’s okay to buy a product that they’re worried might be unmasculine or unfeminine (such as calling dolls “action figures” or calling perfume “body spray.”)

Next, have students access the student chapters Masculinity in Advertising – Ad Analysis 2 and Masculinity in Advertising – Ad Analysis 3. Have students answer the questions and then discuss their answers. (If you choose, you can half half the class anlayze one of the ads and hte other half analyze the other.)

Now ask students what messages these ads send about men or masculinity. Are any of them concerning or unhealthy, especially if they were seen by teens? For instance, the Axe and body building ads might make teen boys self-conscious about their weight or their muscles; the milk ad suggests that to be a “real” man you have to be a superhero; and the body building ad suggests it’s unmanly for men to seek out help when they have problems, saying that when they have “the weight of the world” on their shoulders they should “just add more.” (If applied literally to weight lifting, following that advice could also lead them to injure themselves.)