Taking on sexist advertising
- By Sarah Guenther
- Jan 31, 2016
- 2 min read
The advertising industry is one of the largest industries in the United States. Each year, the U.S. spends billions of dollars on advertising campaigns for every product imaginable – from hamburgers to lawn mowers.
It comes as no surprise, then, that companies are constantly forming better ways to advertise and sell their products. Sometimes this leads to creative and original ads that push the boundaries of what we’re used to seeing. And then sometimes, this leads to businesses using women’s bodies to sell their products.
We see this trend consistently with companies like Carl’s Jr. and Burger King. Sexist ads often take one part of a woman’s body or show her in a provocative position to draw the viewer in. It doesn’t just happen with food either; these kinds of ads have been used to sell everything from beer and clothing to trucks and cologne.
Madonna Badger, who runs the branding agency Badger & Winters, decided to do something about this issue. Her firm created the hashtag #WomenNotObjects on Twitter to combat the objectification of women in the media and in advertising. The firm also created a video featuring women highlighting various examples of sexist advertisements:
Badger might seem like a strange choice to lead the charge on this issue. After all, she was behind many of the provocative Calvin Klein ads of the ‘90s. Nowadays, she has realized the impact that advertising can have on people, especially with the advent of social media.
In an article by PR Week, Badger said that “…since my children and parents died, I have been searching for a greater purpose. I have seen advertising agencies making these decisions to objectify women as a way of standing apart, getting attention, and being disruptive. We as advertising agencies can stop.”
Several people on Twitter have lauded the video since it was released two weeks ago. While it has drawn some backlash, the video sends a powerful message to advertising agencies. Let’s hope this campaign sparks real change in the advertising industry.
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