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<font size=2>Please Forward<br>
<br>
SEXIST AD CAMPAIGN COMES TO URBANA: READ ON AND TAKE ACTION!! (from
Sarah Kanouse)<br>
<br>
‘Lucky You,’ a fragrance for men and women, has launched a nationwide
advertising campaign that uses retro imagery to glorify and reinforce
traditional gender roles. I saw the ads in two vacant storefront
windows in the Lincoln Square Mall in Urbana, IL. One window is
devoted to the fragrance ‘for men’ (blue bottle); the other is ‘for
women’ (pink bottle). No other differences can be
ascertained; the stereotyped images used to sell the lifestyle
associated with the perfume are the same for women and men. <br>
<br>
In both windows, several cardboard boxes are covered with repeated
retro-style images in saturated technicolor. The central and
largest image is a 50’s style pin-up girl, with short shorts, halter top,
spike heels, and hair scarf, crouched on one leg, the other leg
outstretched. She covers her mouth with one hand, her eyes opened
wide in an expression of shock. Another (smaller) box zooms out
from this woman to reveal the setting: the woman is perched on the
arm of a sofa, and the hand not used to cover her mouth is pouring coffee
for the man sprawled on the couch. A second large-scale image
depicts the same woman in different costume (jeans, halter tops, long
blond hair worn down) standing behind the man and plucking the cherry off
the top of his milkshake while he turns his head to stare intently at her
cleavage. By portraying the woman as a glamorous but still
acceptably obedient sex object and by representing the man as obviously
enjoying the experience of being waited on by a sexy image, the ad
campaign reinforces negative gender stereotypes of both men and
women. As one Urbana resident offended by the display noted, the ad
suggests that the ‘Lucky You’ man can
<font size=2><i>have</i><font size=2> a servile sex object and the ‘Lucky
You’ woman can <font size=2><i>be</i><font size=2> a servile sex
object.<br>
<br>
I was disturbed by the displays the first time I saw them. I
immediately wrote a note to Tony Stephens, Vice President of Development
for the Lincoln Square Mall, demanding that he call me within two days to
discuss my concerns. He did not, so I called and was told the
window was the responsibility of Wenda Townsend, Manager of
Bergner’s Department Store. Stephens assured me that he had
passed on my complaint to Townsend and thought it “strange” she hadn’t
gotten back to me. Over the next few days I tried to get in touch
with Wenda Townsend but was put on hold for long periods of time (more
than 15 minutes), disconnected when trying to reach voice mail, or just
informed that she was not in. When I finally had a conversation
with Townsend, she was very evasive and internally inconsistent, stating
at different times that Bergner’s was under contractual obligation to
Lucky You to run the ad campaign; that Bergner’s had spent a lot of money
to buy the ads and therefore must run them; that Bergner’s parent
company, Carson Perry Scott, forced Bergner’s to run the ad; that
she would only take down the ad when Lucky You discontinued the campaign,
and with sufficient public outcry they might reconsider. <br>
<br>
<font size=2>Townsend devoted a large portion of our conversation to
legitimizing the ad campaign, but her arguments in defense of the images
are questionable at best. She seemed especially proud of the fact
that the campaign is being run in New York City with a large poster in
Times Squareas if its presence in New York proves its social merit.
She reassured me bizarrely, “There are much more offensive things
on TV.” Perhaps most tellingly, she compared the ad to a certain
famous adult magazine. “It’s no different than putting out
Playboy,” she said. “That’s exactly right,” I responded, “and would
Bergner’s put out Playboy?” “That’s not the point,” she insisted,
“it’s a corporate promotion. And all the other department store
think it’s perfectly tasteful.”<br>
<br>
Townsend also tried to convince me I am the only person in
Champaign-Urbana offended by the ads. At the time of our
conversation, I was the only person to have complained, and, she
explained, “If you don’t have people coming in and saying it’s offensive,
then it’s just a tiny minority.” Although she professed being
unable to do anything about the ad, she did admit, “if we get a slew of
letters, then that’s a different story.” <br>
<br>
I am sure I’m not the only person in C-U or around the country who is
disturbed by these images. I am sure I am not the only person who
wants her community free of restrictive caricatures of male and female
sexuality. If you live in Champaign or Urbana, please call
Wenda Townsend at (217) 328-3800 and demand that she remove the
display. Write to Ed Carroll, Director of Corporate Advertising at
Carson Perry Scott, 331 West Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 52303 to demand
that he end the Lucky You campaign in all Bergner’s department
stores. If you live out of the area and are disturbed by the ad
campaign, contact </font><br>
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