Advertisement Analysis: Gender

The usacycling.org advertisement is a call to action. On seeing the advertisement, the first thing that comes to mind is the role of fathers in the nurturing process. The child is being fed from a bike water bottle. The bike water bottle gives relevance to the advertisement. The advertisement is a call to join the USA Cycling Organization in creating in nurturing the next generation of cyclists. Various issues are raised in this advertisement. The advertisement is, however, a very good depiction of the role of gender in both child development and choice of careers.

Exposition

The advertisement is based on a man. The man is a representation of the male gender. The male gender is better placed to do this advertisement since the society sees cycling as a men’s job. The child being nurtured is also probably a boy who is being raised to become a cyclist. The nurturing must begin as early as possible. The child is being fed with milk. This is first a depiction of the age and second, a depiction of healthy living. Healthy decisions must be made early enough for the cyclist to be easily and well raised. Father and baby are shirtless. This is a show of the spirit of cycling. Cyclists often cycle when half dressed. For the child to be raised to become a cyclist successfully, he must be exposed to all aspects of cycling. It is for this reason that the child is kept half dressed like the father. The child is also drinking his milk from a bicycle water bottle. This like the shirtless aspect is a show of the cycling spirit.

The writing beside the picture further clarifies the advertisement. They actually give meaning to the advertisement. Without those words, the advert may be very difficult to understand. They like the rest of the advertisement communicate about raising the next generation of cyclists. There is also a USA cycling Organization logo to show the participation of the company in raising stars.

Examples

The role of gender is highly shown in the advertisement. First, the advertisement is acted by a man. This is especially important as this is a man’s profession. The man chooses to take the role of the mother to feed the child so that he can raise a cyclist. The idea of taking the roles of the other gender could also mean a change in the perspectives of people. The society has embraced change and therefore a more likelihood that there is going to be growth.

The use of the water bottle in depicting the cycling profession is another example. The child looks too young to hold the bottle the way he does. Even then, it could be a sign of strength which is believed to be higher in men. He has the strength that is required in becoming a cyclist.  Probably, this could also imply that the training or nurturing he is getting from the father is bearing fruits. The role of gender is still evident in this. If the man has helped him to become as strong as he seems, then the way of raising he gets from the father is likely to be more superior and enabled.

The man looks caring and all his attention is on the child. This is a show of safety. It may be used to imply that in the hands of the organization, one will be in safe hands and their attention will be in the new entrant to ensure that he is well nurtured. In this case, safety is depicted using the man’s hands. One is safe in the hands of a man. This is a show of the role that the organization is going to play in the entrants’ lives.

Explanation

Men are believed to be energetic and overbearing. They are therefore expected to take on the more difficult roles in the society. Cycling is a sacrifice that few women can easily engage. The role of raising the child to become a cyclist may actually be a difficult task.

This advert is likely to have a good reception in both the female and the male audiences. While the advert has a significant amount of gender stereotypes which would be likely to cause offense to the female gender, the advert also shows a sign of gender equality by the man’s ability to take on roles that were traditionally done by women (Vantomme, Geuens & Dewitte, 2005).

The advertisement also shows two other aspects of the advert that may be attractive to women. First, the picture of a child is one thing that attracts women. The half dressed man is also supposed to show a form of brute strength that is famous with women (Vantomme, Geuens & Dewitte, 2005). Women are therefore likely to be attracted to it. With that effect, however, the women so attracted may only act as to introduce their husbands and children to the organization. This advertisement has no place for women. Instead, it seeks to get the men to take action and either get enrolled or enroll their children.

Men are believed to offer protection in the family. On the other hand, women hide outside the picture when trouble strikes. The current problem is that of raising children to become cyclists. According to the image, the preparation can be done as early as possible. The depiction of women in society as the weaker strength may be passed in time. However, when it is depicted the way it is done in the case of this image, then the other picture gets outside the picture.

In conclusion, the advertisement is a depiction of the need to start training children to become cyclists early on in their lives. When in the hands of a man, a child is found to be safe. He is also likely to be nurtured to become a man of brute strength as may be expected by the society. The use of the cycling water bottle to contain the milk gives direction to the advertisement. This direction is further enhanced by the writings on the side of the picture. The use of stereotypes is covered up by the depiction of equality in the image. While the advert does not target women to participate in cycling, it may be used to impress upon them to introduce those males who are closely attached to them to get involved. The advert therefore succeeds in passing the message and by the time one finishes viewing the advert, he is attracted to the idea of visiting the web address. The web address is therefore important for the overall health of the advert.

References

Vantomme, D., Geuens, M., & Dewitte, S. (2005). How to portray men and women in advertisements? Explicit and implicit evaluations of ads depicting different gender roles. Explicit And Implicit Evaluations Of Ads Depicting Different Gender Roles.