Has Advertising Helped to Make Men More Self Conscious about Their Appearance - Coursework Example

Has advertising helped to make men more self conscious about their appearance? Evaluate whether this might be a good or a bad thing. Advertising has become the greatest cultural instrument these days. Any person chooses all his daily requirements on the basis of advertisement. The toothbrush to sleeping mattress that we use is selected on the basis of advertisements. And it is better not to talk about the beauty industry. Previously, this was something exclusively for women. But now the situation has changed so much that even men go behind these temptations. “No battle or movement is fought or won without casualties. Men are beginning to lose what women have begun to gain in the war against the depiction and treatment of human bodies.”(Edisol: 3). The main reason for this is the amount of influence advertisements have on the society. There is no scope for doubt in the fact ‘advertising helped to make men more self conscious about their appearance’. When we go through the sales data of male oriented products world wide, we find a rapid shoot up in the business in the recent years. “In the United States, sales of male-specific cosmetics and toiletries went up 37.3 percent between 1998 and 2003, according to Euro monitor’s 2004 study, with total sales of such products hitting $3.8 billion in 2003”(as cited in http://www.naturalnews.com/005132.html). These sales would have multiplied many times by now. Many developing countries like India where men were least concerned about beauty matters have a men’s beauty parlor in every nook and corner offering the most modern beauty treatments. Metrosexuals are seen on all four sides and at least for some, feminity is substituting his macho man appearance. All pinks and bright oranges on a man are seen awkward though the guys are least concerned. He is too much conscious of how he looks and he is in front of the mirror whenever he can. It is still a debate if it is fair for the man to behave like a typical woman in his personal appearance matters. Not only does he takes care of his looks too much but also spends a huge amount of his earning on the same. For instance, let us check the sale details of Loreal Paris, the international cosmetic brand. “Together male perfumes and deodorant made up about two thirds of LOreals male cosmetic sales in 2007. The usage of male cosmetics has grown considerably over the last two decades. From 1990 to 2001, mens skincare usage increased from 4.5% to 21%. In addition, men skincare usage in Western Europe has increased about 28% between 2001 and 2005. Cosmetics companies have even began to penetrate the over-40 market, which is not as saturated as the womens and young mens markets. In 2007,53 anti-ageing skin care products were released, four times the number of new products released in 2005. There are two key reasons why the male demographic is receiving so much attention from cosmetics companies: first and foremost, it is still not as saturated as the female market. More importantly, men have proven to be more loyal to specific products and brands than women are who are more likely to switch to whatever the next trend is. Therefore cosmetics companies are trying to appeal to the male market in order to secure long-term loyal customers.”(http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Loreal_(LRLCY) It is important to notice that the products familiarized through advertisement are purchased more than the other products even if they are of cheaper quality. The number of male oriented beauty products and outfits are rushing up each day. Brand consciousness has become a spreading fever. Is this a trend to welcome or a menace to be avoided? Before we move on with the discussion, let’s have a brief attention to various concepts on advertising and marketing strategies. There is a known fact that none of the beauty products bring in a great change in human appearance. It is more of masking the mistakes than rectifying them. For instance, if you have a short stature, you are asked to wear those outfits which make you look taller and your make up always complement your complexion. Nothing much revolutionary happens in the beauty making scenario. Still, even men who consider themselves as the people with sense and sensibility fall in advertisements. Why should anyone waste his money on something which in practical is of no use to him? “The scope of advertising depends on the ignorance of the people to whom it is addressed. The more ignorant the buyer, the more he relies on advertising” (Jones, J-P: 74:1998). This is a fact. As per the psychology of advertisement, the consumer buys that product of which he saw the advertisement at the latest time. He buys it even if it is not a necessary item. Mothers of teen aged boys often complain about the number of hair gels and other cosmetic items that their sons purchase. This trend is more or less pointing towards that attitude of youngsters where they show least concern for money and its value. Earn and enjoy has become the ruling motto of youngsters, particularly young adults. The previous generation knew the value of money and saved it for their security and only the rest was spent on luxuries. Now, by the beginning of the second half of a month, the man is out of his total salary. Moreover, three fourth of their shopping amount is spent on unwanted products to enhance their appearance. Man, who is supposed to be the supporter of the family is wasting too much on luxury is an unacceptable fact. Brands have become a status symbol. The male population is spending too much to gain the prestigious look and it is known that the branded products are very much expensive than the normal ones. Advertisements are making wars to gain costumers and bring the loyal costumers of other brands to the sphere of the brand which is their client. In the book ‘How Advertising Works: The Role of Research’, Jones mention about the AIDA model on which many of the advertisements work. Awareness  Interest  Desire  Action The process of awareness is not always honest. Everyone knows that no person will gain a macho look if he wears the brief of a particular brand. Yet the way the product is advertised and the imagery of sexuality makes him choose the brand. Another problem with the male oriented products’ advertisement is the over implementation of sexual images. If the product needs to be popular, a couple of semi-clad females are mandatory. Especially the advertisements of inner garments and perfumes follow this style. Many advertisements of the brand Axe perfumes were banned due to its sexual content. This not only fools the consumer but also bring in an impression within the elder children and younger adults that sex has so much to do with day to day life. The association of sex with usual matters of life makes these categories of population gain so many misconceptions and it affects their healthy sexual attitude. Bringing in interest to the product in this wrong way may help in more sales but bring in bad psychological effects in the consumers. They should never be encouraged. Now moving on to the desire portion, more of advertisements come on luxury products than on the necessary items. This for sure will make the luxury item more preferred than the necessary item. With the wrong advertisement in the wrong place, desire is made for the wrong product and the consumer loses the sense of giving preferences. If a man from India purchases a basic model of Dolce &Gabbana glass, he spends the same amount of money which could be used for the health check up of his total family. This is just an example. It is good if a person is bothered of his external appearance and personality. It brings in self confidence and self respect. But today’s man is a bit over concerned about this. The extend of fashion sense has crossed all limits and they have even began taking those appearances which are least accepted in the society. The younger adults who follow the metrosexual party animal look may not be accepted at a gathering of elders. By doing this, they are growing sort of selfish attitude where they do not bother about the society and lose respect for who really deserve. This cannot be encouraged at any cost. Fashion sense is ruining the character of people in many ways. Females, who prefer to be gentle and modest never prefer to show their style and attitude in such formal occasions while males prefer to rebel. The male attitude also adds to such not so welcome situations. Advertisements are largely responsible for this as many advertisement campaigns are growing such a culture. In a sense, the advertisement copywriters and movie script writers are ruling our culture and lifestyle which is indeed a dangerous thing. The growing minds are getting ruined than brought in the right way. The media regulating authorities must seriously look into this aspect as the psychological impact and strength of these media are unimaginably high. Another problem with the medium of advertisement is that it grows gender based attitude in the society.” A prevailing assumption is that constant exposure to stereotyped gender roles in the mass media fosters and reinforces gender typed views and behaviors” (Jacqueline, Tom: 127). As mentioned before, advertisements give extra importance to gender based views and this brings in an image of sex symbol to the female. The male who is ought to love and respect his co-being begins to find her as an instrument for his physical satisfaction. It cannot be categorized right under any reason. In the book ‘Behold the Man: The Hype and Selling of Male Beauty in Media and Culture’, Edisol W Dotson says, “Today, partly as a result of the women’s movement and partly due to the changing roles of men in the society, images of beautiful men have firmly established the standards of what men must look like to meet the criteria being desirable. In short, the male image has been reduced to a four-letter word-hunk. If men are not hunks-or cleverer enough to hide their unmanly or unmuscular bodies with the right clothing-they are led to believe that they stand little or no chance of achieving or emulating the emotional and sexual satisfaction illustrated in the cultural images surrounding them.”(Edisol:4). This trend of growing a muscular body and selecting the super fit outfits has all come from the influence of advertisements and other media. From this, it is evident that advertisements are not only reducing the female image but also the male image. Bocock says in the introduction of his book ‘Consumption’, “In the social formations of western capitalism, however consumption has become linked with desires through the use of signs and symbols in selling products to the majority of consumers. These desires to become a certain type of person through consuming objects such as clothes or styles of furniture do not dis-appear in periods of economic recession”. This is very significant in the current state of recession that the world is going through. When the whole world is trying hard to breathe out of the strong hands of recession, the careless beauty conscious man is still in search of better beauty enhancement products. According to the newly evolved beauty seeking male sees just today than his future. During the recession when the whole world thinks of spending less and saving, the beauty sense is still haunting men and they are chasing the expensive brand. This non-adaptive character has been developed by the extreme influence of media particularly advertisements. “Beauty is a business, a huge money making industry, feeding and surviving on the low self esteem of women and men. Million dollar profits are earned by the beauty industry by exploiting the vulnerabilities and insecurities of women and men, telling them they are not beautiful enough to survive in today’s world. It is not only on the beauty products or outfits that the modern man is glued to but also he is doing all those things required to make and maintain his physical appearance. “Recent reports indicate that men are spending $3.3 billion annually on grooming products such as fragrances, deodorants, and hair coloring treatments. Another $4.27 billion is spent on gym/health club memberships, exercise equipment, and exercise machines for the stomach muscles. Bald men or men losing their hair growth now spend $1.36 billion annually, mainly on transplants, wigs, and hair-restoration treatments. An additional $507 million is spent on cosmetic surgery procedures”. (Edisol: 5). the urge to be in health clubs and gyms to develop that dream physique compel him to follow a particular diet and even extra nutrient supplements. The cost of protein powder and nutrient supplement are unimaginably high. Moreover everyone has a standard basic physical appearance ruled by his her living style and genetic base. No change can be brought to this basic skeleton however hardworking the male is to create his body image. That is just a few of those males who go for the strict workouts can get the expected results. The situation has gone to such a way that a male is considered worthwhile if the body inside his shirt is fit and give “wow! What a figure!” exclamation from the female side. Expenses going on the other long term effect cosmetic treatments are still too big. Before, man was respected for his self esteem and oldness. Now, even he has gone down to a sensitive female noticing each pimple and grey hair and getting worried over it. This is a creating a crack in the basic male behavior. The male figures in the media are the direct cause for it. It is good that men and women start thinking of their beauty and appearance and get dressed up to look like a perfect person. It is said the ‘first impression is the best impression’. Most of the times, the first impression is gained from his or her appearance. But at least before ten years, female believed in make up and man was nothing more than his external appearance and internal character. Today, even he has gone conscious enough to burn the fat on his belly and dress like a style icon. They do everything for that look. May be the spread of consumerist behavior and globalization have all added to this and the 21st century man can access the media around the globe right from his cabin or private room at his home. If they get the importance of ‘feeling better’ in the society with a better look, it can be approved. At least, we will have a few guys who are conscious enough to show the value of well dressed attitude in the society. But once this cross the limits and spread like a disease and fashion consciousness become a captivator who beholds the masculinity, character and self esteem of the male who is supposed to be the protector of the family, it cannot be seen as a good thing to happen. It is understood that media especially the various forms of advertisements are responsible for this. It is high time the advertisements end feeding on somebody else’s sweat and blood. They should enhance the confidence and self esteem in the male and equally in the female and be truthful to the consumers to the same extend as to their clients. Please don’t take the people to a fantasy world from where they return as Apollo or Cleopatra. Be realistic and down to earth and be honest. If the advertisement and media are able to carry out the mentioned functions in the proper way, we will have males who are beauty conscious yet down to earth and realities of life. It is as important as educating them or employing them. Let us hope to get the same in the future with the combined effort of the brilliant population we have in this world now. Reference: 1. Bocock, R. (1993) Consumption, London: Routledge  2. Brierley, S. (2002) The Advertising Handbook, London: Routledge  3. Edisol Wayne Dotson: Behold the man: the hype and selling of male beauty in media and culture 4. Jones, J-P.(1998) How Advertising Works: The Role of Research, London: Sage  5. Lee, M. (2000) The Consumer Society Reader, Oxford:Blackwell  6. Nixon, S. (2003) Advertising Cultures: Gender, Commerce, Creativity, London: Sage  7. Reichert, T. (2002) Sex in advertising research: A review of content, effects, and functions of Sexual Information in Consumer Advertising, Annual Review of Sex Research, Vol. 13  8. Rohlinger, D. A. (2002). Eroticizing men: Cultural influences on advertising and male  objectification. Sex Roles 9. Rossi, S., & Rossi, J. (1985). Gender differences in the perception of women in magazine advertising. Sex Roles  10. .Schwartz, P. and V.E. Rutter (1998), The Gender of Sexuality, Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press  11. Soley, L., & Kurzbard, G. (1986). Sex in advertising: A comparison of 1964 and 1984 magazine advertisements. Journal of Advertising  12. Tom Reichert, Jacqueline Lambaise :Sex in consuming culture 13. Men buying more beauty products: Industry begin catering to image conscious males. Accessed on 9th May 10, 2009,Available athttp://www.naturalnews.com/005132.html 14. Loreal (LRLCY) .Accessed on 09th May 10, 2009. available at,(http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Loreal_(LRLCY) Read More