Wrangler Blue Bell Campaign
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Iris Chamberlain
Feb 20, 2010, 11:07:38 PM2/20/10
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Hey all!
Here's an interesting one for you with all sorts of beautiful baggage:
http://eu.wrangler.com/bluebell/#/collection
As a socially conscious designer, I'm constantly analyzing the way men and women are portrayed in advertising. I'm used to seeing traditionally attractive women wearing little clothing or acting subservient pretty much most of the time, so when I see this happening to a male, I'm really quite shocked - and occasionally really excited. While objectifying men on the level that we objectify women is not the "solution" to equality between the sexes, I can't help but find it fascinating (and novel!), and I notice that it reveals parts of me that I haven't really explored.
When I come upon a portrayal of a male that actually turns me on, I'm absolutely dumbfounded because I didn't even know it was possible for me to be turned on by a particular portrayal of a man. That's weird because while I have some serious queer tendencies, I'm pretty heterosexual. I'm wondering how marketing and media's male bias may have influenced the way I look at women and the way I look at men. This experience is also showing me that while living in a culture overrun by sexual objectification negatively impacts the way we look at ourselves and others, showing something sexual can be really beautiful and nurturing.
That sort of segues into this Wrangler campaign. We have a well-built male, perhaps attractive, shot absolutely beautifully in constant motion and slowly - which makes the movement seem unfamiliar and mysterious. Secondly, WE control his movements in such a way that it implies our control over him. He's essentially a doll, the definition of objectification, but he doesn't seem too upset about it - some of it is even comic, as if he's doing it for our amusement.
To put this in perspective, YEAH, I find this incredibly sexy! On the other hand, what it if were a woman? I'd be horrified because it would hit too close to home regarding rape and abuse. That brings up so many other questions I'm not even going to delve into it, but definitely makes me ask whether it's morally reprehensible for me to be turned on by this portrayal of a man or not.
One more thing I wonder about is the controller. Wrangler is a MAN'S BRAND. It's a heterosexual cowboy brand. The target audience is all male. What would be the experience of a heterosexual male being the controller versus me? What does that mean? What does that make me?
Anyway, that's all sort of ignoring the intricacies of queer, trans and race (etc) issues, but starts a conversation.
What do you think?
I R I S C H A M B E R L A I N
StartHereDesigns.com
InsightApp.com
Here's an interesting one for you with all sorts of beautiful baggage:
http://eu.wrangler.com/bluebell/#/collection
As a socially conscious designer, I'm constantly analyzing the way men and women are portrayed in advertising. I'm used to seeing traditionally attractive women wearing little clothing or acting subservient pretty much most of the time, so when I see this happening to a male, I'm really quite shocked - and occasionally really excited. While objectifying men on the level that we objectify women is not the "solution" to equality between the sexes, I can't help but find it fascinating (and novel!), and I notice that it reveals parts of me that I haven't really explored.
When I come upon a portrayal of a male that actually turns me on, I'm absolutely dumbfounded because I didn't even know it was possible for me to be turned on by a particular portrayal of a man. That's weird because while I have some serious queer tendencies, I'm pretty heterosexual. I'm wondering how marketing and media's male bias may have influenced the way I look at women and the way I look at men. This experience is also showing me that while living in a culture overrun by sexual objectification negatively impacts the way we look at ourselves and others, showing something sexual can be really beautiful and nurturing.
That sort of segues into this Wrangler campaign. We have a well-built male, perhaps attractive, shot absolutely beautifully in constant motion and slowly - which makes the movement seem unfamiliar and mysterious. Secondly, WE control his movements in such a way that it implies our control over him. He's essentially a doll, the definition of objectification, but he doesn't seem too upset about it - some of it is even comic, as if he's doing it for our amusement.
To put this in perspective, YEAH, I find this incredibly sexy! On the other hand, what it if were a woman? I'd be horrified because it would hit too close to home regarding rape and abuse. That brings up so many other questions I'm not even going to delve into it, but definitely makes me ask whether it's morally reprehensible for me to be turned on by this portrayal of a man or not.
One more thing I wonder about is the controller. Wrangler is a MAN'S BRAND. It's a heterosexual cowboy brand. The target audience is all male. What would be the experience of a heterosexual male being the controller versus me? What does that mean? What does that make me?
Anyway, that's all sort of ignoring the intricacies of queer, trans and race (etc) issues, but starts a conversation.
What do you think?
I R I S C H A M B E R L A I N
StartHereDesigns.com
InsightApp.com
Josh Chadwick
Feb 28, 2010, 11:17:04 AM2/28/10
to DesignChain
All of the points you brought up I found very interesting. I'm also
glad I went to the site before I ready you reactions because I think
they may have influenced what I was thinking.
glad I went to the site before I ready you reactions because I think
they may have influenced what I was thinking.
My first reaction was definitely how cool and impressive the clarity
and control of the imagery was. I'd like to know how they did it. I
have a few ideas how it could be done, but I'd like to pick the brain
of the photographer. Secondly though I began to project myself into
his shoes and I felt kinda violated. I didn't want to feel like
someone's puppet and they definitely weren't selling me on their
product. Considering I'm a young twenty-something male I'd think I'm
inf their target demographic. If I am infact the target audience then
I'd consider the ads ineffective. You'd think a novel ad would be
thought through well enough to have a folly like that though. So who
is the target audience? I can't put my finger on it.
Either way I think the level of interactivity the website has achieved
is impressive. Thanks for sharing the link.
Josh
On Feb 20, 11:07 pm, Iris Chamberlain <irischamberl...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> Hey all!
> Here's an interesting one for you with all sorts of beautiful baggage:
>
> *http://eu.wrangler.com/bluebell/#/collection*<http://eu.wrangler.com/bluebell/#/collection>
susan crow
Feb 28, 2010, 4:00:26 PM2/28/10
to Josh Chadwick, DesignChain
I also watched the site before reading your response and was a little surprised at your thoughts, but
very impressed with your honesty.
This is kindergarten material compared to the way women are objectified in the media. Case in point,
the new Reebok ads.
http://jezebel.com/5410315/make-your-boobs-jealous-reeboks-easytone-ad-campaign-is-an-epic-fail
I am tired of all of it, and when I encounter a company that is attempting to sell their stuff by treating us
like idiots, I put them on my 'do not purchase' list. The way things are going I'll have to visit the DYI sites
pretty often in the future.
It goes without saying that I will never again buy another Adidas (They own Reebok) product.
The Wrangler ad won't affect my purchasing..I mean come on.. who wears Wrangler anyway?
--
Susan Crow Inc.
Sustainable Product Design and Development
susan...@gmail.com
612-735-1712
very impressed with your honesty.
This is kindergarten material compared to the way women are objectified in the media. Case in point,
the new Reebok ads.
http://jezebel.com/5410315/make-your-boobs-jealous-reeboks-easytone-ad-campaign-is-an-epic-fail
I am tired of all of it, and when I encounter a company that is attempting to sell their stuff by treating us
like idiots, I put them on my 'do not purchase' list. The way things are going I'll have to visit the DYI sites
pretty often in the future.
It goes without saying that I will never again buy another Adidas (They own Reebok) product.
The Wrangler ad won't affect my purchasing..I mean come on.. who wears Wrangler anyway?
--
Thanks for taking part in the design swap!
Post? Email: desig...@googlegroups.com
Unsubscribe? Email: designchain...@googlegroups.com
Visit? Go to http://groups.google.com/group/designchain?hl=en
--
Susan Crow Inc.
Sustainable Product Design and Development
susan...@gmail.com
612-735-1712
Timothy Houck
Feb 28, 2010, 6:57:56 PM2/28/10
to susan crow, Josh Chadwick, DesignChain
What I really do not like about those ads are the fact that we talked about them. Because thats exactly what they wanted us to do. Much like a restaurant in downtown Sarasota (which I'm not saying the name) painted the front of the building lime green! It was an eye soar to the town, but they did it so you would talk about it. I absolutely hate it when companies do something just as a conversation piece and not of something that contains thought or is original. I really enjoyed the Wrangler add. I suppose I liked it because you were able to see the product on a moving person. But, a great addition would have been if you could change the weight and size of the model. Not all of us look like that. So when I see something like this Reebok add, I don't talk about it. Much like seeing a smoking hot super model in a Ferrari and making sure not to look at her.
--
Timothy Houck
Industrial Designer
585.727.9309
--
Timothy Houck
Industrial Designer
585.727.9309
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