My New Summer Job
I want to preface this by thanking Mrs. Genesky for encouraging us to look up advertisements, as it has led to me finding my new summer job.
Unknown. Untitled. Las Angeles, 2013
This advertisement for Arrangement Finders was first posted on a Billboard in Los Angeles in 2013. While it may seem as though the advertisement is completely ridiculous and inappropriate, it’s actually completely relevant to the company, which is a “sugar baby and sugar daddy match making service”. While I am not in the least interested in this company, its advertisement was absolutely perfect for this assignment (sorry Mrs. Genesky, you did this to yourself).
At first glance,the evident sin pictured in this advertisement is lust. While the text is directed towards women, the photo is most certainly geared towards men, as it shows off a pretty blonde woman, applying a coat of lipstick. However, the text portion of the ad lends itself strongly to avarice, directing itself towards women who want money and wealth more than love. This brings me to the discussion of the audience, which is two pretty distinct types of people. The first, as I have mentioned, is men, particularly those who are rather wealthy, and have money to burn. These men also likely fall into the “forever alone” category. I’m willing to guess that most men who are able to attract a woman would rather do so with their wit and charm, as opposed to large sums of money. The women being attracted by this ad are on the opposite end of the spectrum, however. These women are younger, and play into the stereotype of young broke college students (the ad is even addressed to ‘students', and was displayed just outside of the UCLA campus), who will do anything for a dollar or two. The women who take this advertisement seriously probably do fall under this category to a certain extent, being physically attractive and desperate for cash. However, there are always exceptions to the norm. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if a couple of older women or even men were participants on the website (although I don’t have any desire to look into it- feel free to check it out and let me know).
The assumptions and stereotypes of this advertisement, however, raise a slightly more serious issue than the initial disgust that most people feel when looking at it. This billboard is indeed targeting younger people who are in need of money, and whose prefrontal cortex's are not quite yet developed (as any adult will so lovingly remind you). These people likely do have a somewhat clouded judgement, and may not realize the full implications of the choices they make. Like any dating site, creating a profile on Arrangementfinder.com carries some risk. There are creepy people on the internet, and by creating a profile you are putting out important information about yourself, no matter how careful you may believe you are being. The fact that this company is intentionally marketing this type of service (?) to young people is disturbing. While informed, consenting adults can make decisions on their own accord, dangling money that is desperately needed in the faces of young people is immoral and inappropriate. This is also not the first offensive billboard that has been produced by the company, another popular ad reading “Undocumented immigrant? Before you get a deported get a sugar daddy”. These advertisements raise the question of what is constituted as appropriate advertising, and when a billboard has gone too far.
Unknown. Untitled. Las Angeles, 2013
This advertisement for Arrangement Finders was first posted on a Billboard in Los Angeles in 2013. While it may seem as though the advertisement is completely ridiculous and inappropriate, it’s actually completely relevant to the company, which is a “sugar baby and sugar daddy match making service”. While I am not in the least interested in this company, its advertisement was absolutely perfect for this assignment (sorry Mrs. Genesky, you did this to yourself).
At first glance,the evident sin pictured in this advertisement is lust. While the text is directed towards women, the photo is most certainly geared towards men, as it shows off a pretty blonde woman, applying a coat of lipstick. However, the text portion of the ad lends itself strongly to avarice, directing itself towards women who want money and wealth more than love. This brings me to the discussion of the audience, which is two pretty distinct types of people. The first, as I have mentioned, is men, particularly those who are rather wealthy, and have money to burn. These men also likely fall into the “forever alone” category. I’m willing to guess that most men who are able to attract a woman would rather do so with their wit and charm, as opposed to large sums of money. The women being attracted by this ad are on the opposite end of the spectrum, however. These women are younger, and play into the stereotype of young broke college students (the ad is even addressed to ‘students', and was displayed just outside of the UCLA campus), who will do anything for a dollar or two. The women who take this advertisement seriously probably do fall under this category to a certain extent, being physically attractive and desperate for cash. However, there are always exceptions to the norm. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if a couple of older women or even men were participants on the website (although I don’t have any desire to look into it- feel free to check it out and let me know).
The assumptions and stereotypes of this advertisement, however, raise a slightly more serious issue than the initial disgust that most people feel when looking at it. This billboard is indeed targeting younger people who are in need of money, and whose prefrontal cortex's are not quite yet developed (as any adult will so lovingly remind you). These people likely do have a somewhat clouded judgement, and may not realize the full implications of the choices they make. Like any dating site, creating a profile on Arrangementfinder.com carries some risk. There are creepy people on the internet, and by creating a profile you are putting out important information about yourself, no matter how careful you may believe you are being. The fact that this company is intentionally marketing this type of service (?) to young people is disturbing. While informed, consenting adults can make decisions on their own accord, dangling money that is desperately needed in the faces of young people is immoral and inappropriate. This is also not the first offensive billboard that has been produced by the company, another popular ad reading “Undocumented immigrant? Before you get a deported get a sugar daddy”. These advertisements raise the question of what is constituted as appropriate advertising, and when a billboard has gone too far.
This is most certainly a perfect example for an advertisement that displays the deadly sins of avarice and lust. I think your analysis of this advertisement is accurate as well as your description of the intended audience. However, I do wish you would have gone more in depth into the cultural knowledge that these people have. I do not think necessarily that their youth and lack of a fully developed prefrontal cortex really contributes to their cultural knowledge, but rather their willingness to take risks. I believe that if they are in fact college students, as you have described, they would be fully aware of the "sketchy" nature of these advertisements, but like you said that desperation is what would drive the risk. I believe also that you could have described more the role that stereotypes play into this. You sorta ventured into this territory when you mentioned the other advertisement directed towards undocumented immigrants, but I wish you would've went spelunking a bit further into this cave.
ReplyDeleteHey Lily, solid post! I found your hyperlinks as well as the evaluation of the billboard to be very interesting. On a more specific note, your thought process as to why Avarice was the more applicable deadly sin was very well constructed and supported. Your examples of the intended audience was also one of the strongest parts of the post as you considered the specific people who are harmed and misled by the positive portrayal of prostitution that is really only harmful in our society. I found that the consideration of why people are driven to do "Sketch" things like entering the site was also an insightful consideration. I do think that the applications to further issues like fear-mongering could have been further developed but, overall, it was a well made PSA to the youth of America. Nice.
ReplyDeleteYou couldn't have written a more insightful and informing yet hilarious post that highlights some sinnery (is this a word? we may never know) but also gives awareness to some serious tone-deaf commentary. First off I thought the balance between the light, witty tone and language with the in depth analysis was really well done. Also I like how you connected additional ads by this company to further highlight their style of advertising. I feel like you opened several doors that could've allowed you to comment even further on the exploitation of mass media on stereotypes. So my only suggestion is to develop a little more of that even if it's brief because your inclusion of them left me hanging almost. Overall I really like the direction you took with this post, and really good job!
ReplyDeleteHi Lily! Great post! I do believe that young women should be informed about the dangers of the prostitution industry, which this ad clearly obstructs. I like how you briefly stepped back to consider the the thought process of the audience who is attracted to an advertisement like this. Maybe you could consider as well how these women feel, being so desperate as to seriously consider getting a sugar daddy for their financial needs. The whole business of prostitution (which I guess constitutes sugar babies as well) is an extremely thought-provoking topic, as we may never understand the dire situations that some girls unfortunately find themselves in that lead them to turn to profiting off of their bodies. The social and mental impacts are too intense to think about. Personally, I believe this ad is more representative of lust than avarice, because prostitution is usually a last-resort business for women looking to make easy money. I at least hope that women would not turn to selling sex as their primary career option. Overall, I think you made some great points, including when you mentioned how this also relates to online predation. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteHey Lily!
ReplyDeleteAs evident in Mr. Beller's class, you are very creative. I am slightly jealous of your ability to make your analysis so enjoyable to read. However, I advise you to take precaution when joking about such serious content. Your post addressed the sins this billboard promoted and the inappropriate aspects of the ad, making the jokes simply a portrayal of your personal style. In other situations, this may not be apparent and to avoid any drama or backlash, I advise you to ensure that your message is always clear despite your use of comedic relief. Your content was intriguing and your analysis was thought provoking. I loved how you approached the ad from two different perspectives as you acknowledged the various audiences that would be viewing the ad. I believe this post demonstrates your ability to take into account and analyze numerous perspectives, which is an important part of the IB programme. This, coupled with your writing style makes your blog very entertaining and thought provoking. Great job!!