This Calvin Klein ad shows a woman in a men’s bathroom standing over a urinal. The black and white format makes the product, the underwear, more pronounced. The model is standing like a man using the urinal. This is not typical for how a woman uses the restroom. Her stance is very masculine in the way her legs are spread apart and where her hands and head are. Even though she is acting like a man, she is still very feminine by what she is wearing. She has on heels and she has long hair.
It is interesting that the woman is in a men’s bathroom, acting very masculine. She appears very confident. This depicts a reversal of gender roles. It is possible that wearing this underwear will make you feel strong and confident, while still being feminine. In a way, this is the best of both worlds. Women want to be feminine in a relationship while being masculine in the workplace.
This ad is an attention grabber. The void of color helps the viewer focus in on the product. The bright white underwear stands out more than the rest of the photo. The situation, a woman standing over a urinal, is very different to what actually happens in society. But it is clear that this is a Calvin Klein product because his name is at the bottom of the ad in large font.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Why is there no color in this ad? Does it give the ad a certain mood? Would this ad have a different impact or effect if it were in color?
This picture was taken from behind. Is there a reason for that? Would seeing her face take away from the masculine pose?
We said that her standing in a very strong pose in a men’s bathroom could make you feel confident and powerful, but how will that affect how the product sells? Would this ad have the same impact if she was in a women’s bathroom?
At first, I think the poster is trying to say that “with our products, you are too comfortable that you may even use the urinal when you get up every morning.” But when I use the method from WA, I found that what I thought is not right.
ReplyDeleteFirst, considering the surroundings in the poster, the woman is standing over a urinal and the urinal is the middle one out the three in the poster. So we can infer that this is a public restroom for men. And I think this represents woman in a world with masterful men everywhere.
Then, pay attention to her heels, this style and the color of heels is usually for work. In that sense, the poster is trying to frame a woman have occupation and she is confident and relaxed.
Thirdly, thinking about the effects of the white& black color. As commonsense, black can be the representation as power, dark, cool and men. Besides, the color white make people feel cool and a little bit intensive as well in the poster. So I think the designer use the color to strengthen the woman’s masculine feeling and makes the woman more powerful out of the whole setting. And I think that if the color change to a more colorful one, it may be more gentle and thus may lose the momentum of power.
So, overall, I think the ad is trying to send the message to its target female customers that, “with our products, you could be as strong and masterful as a man in the men-mastered workplace.”
I think this ad certainly targets women who would want to portray themselves as powerful and confident individuals. The woman in the ad seems to dominate the ad as she is seen to be placed in the center of the ad with her legs spread apart as if impersonating a man in front of the man's urinal. Even if the ads are specifically inclined towards women, however it attracts attention to men as they like women who wants to be in control of a situation. As seen in the ad, its evident that the woman's body posture suggest she demands control. The emphasis on the monotone color could project a uniform look that gives a serious and calm vibe as compared to a colored ad.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the authors that because there is no color in the ad, the bright underwear will catch audiences’ eyes in the first place. That’s what the ad tries to sell. The ad wants to show women’s strong power and confidence instead of the sexual attraction of them. If it uses red color of her heels, the impression of a competent office lady changes a little. It may indicate that the woman wants to attract her colleagues’ eyes if she wears red heels.
ReplyDeleteThe picture was taken in man’s room means that women can be independent, and can be as successful as men in their career. They can stand out in the world instead of just being the housewives. The ad targets the women who want to be stand out in their career.
I think the picture was taken behind because the ad wants to convey the concept that what you look like is not important. If the audiences see her in front, they tend to notice her appearance. They tend to judge whether she is beautiful (and of course she is), the audiences will form a false conception that only beautiful women can have confidence. Then, again, the ad shows women’s sexual appealing instead of the capability. Because the ad targets women, it wants to make them they can be as confident as the woman in the picture no matter what they look like.
The dark color adds contrast to the woman's underwear and adds a sense of mystery. She is powerful, she can take the place of any man thanks to her brand new underwear. The lack of the woman's face adds to that sense of mystery. That woman could be anyone...anyone who buys the product. This add is less about having other people finding you sexy and more about finding personal strength
ReplyDeleteWhen black and white is used, it often gives the product or add a more timeless feel. Black and white also gives a classic feel to the product, that its been around so long, you can't go wrong with this product. The picture was taken from behind the woman for many different reasons. The audience's viewpoint makes it easier to tell that she is using a urinal like a man would. This viewpoint also conceals her face. By concealing the woman's face, it adds to her masculinity. If we were to see her face, it would make this add much more feminine due to the differences in facial features in men and women.
ReplyDeleteBeing in a masculine pose like this definitely gives the viewer a feeling that this woman is very confident. This appeals to a women audience because many times women would like to be seen as equals to men. This product sends the message that if you wear this underwear, you will become more confident in yourself. If this ad were to take place in a women's bathroom, it would actually take away from the message that it is sending. This woman would most likely not be in the positing that she is, and there definitely is no urinals in a women's bathroom.
I think this picture was taken from behind to keep the illusion of the woman being manly up. From behind we are left to guess how the woman is peeing at a urinal, but from the front our questions as to how she is doing it would be unfortunately answered. Likewise, if we saw the models face it would make her appear even more feminine. While from behind she does look fairly feminine she still has an air of masculinity about her due to her being at a urinal. From the front though we would see even more feminine features such as her face and her breast. Essentially, taking the picture from behind makes the model more unisex
ReplyDeleteI think the reason the picture was taken from behind is because that's how men look when they go to that bathroom. It wouldn't be as effective if it was taken from a front view because it would give a more feminine feel. She is striking a very masculine pose in the way to she has both of her hand placed on her body.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the picture is really weird! It's very interesting too thought. The reason I believe that the picture is taken from the behind is because, not only is this how a man stands, but it also keeps the audience from seeing the feminine features of the women, such as the facial structure and the breast.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the lack of color makes the product seem timeless because Calvin Klein has been a company selling underwear for a decent amount of time. It also doesn't need any color to get the point across, the variation between the underwear and the background catches the attention of the viewer enough that color would actually distract the eye.
ReplyDeleteI think the pose may send a powerful and confident message to the audience, but it's primarily selling tighty whities. Its a unisex brand of underwear, almost like "yeah a man could even wear these," and shes standing in a typical man stance. That could also be another way of reading the ad.
I think this picture was taking from behind to make the women seem like a man at first glance. The black and white makes it kind of difficult to see the women's hair, with color the hair would be more pronounced and it would be more obvious that it was a girl. At first glance I only really noticed the underwear. Then after more observation I realized that the model is a women because of the hair and shoes. Her tank top is not a real clue at the sex of the model since both men and women wear tank tops. The lack of color affects how the view sees the model.
ReplyDeleteI think she is standing over a urinal to shower power and her manliness. A urinal is something only men can use to urinate, but by a women standing over one it shows that she is just as powerful and masculine as guys. Which shows that the photographer wanted to make this as show confusing gender roles.
I think this ad would help sell because it is more interesting than anything else. When someone sees this in a magazine they are going to want to look at the ad more because it is confusing, interesting, and weird. The viewer will also give Calvin Klein's name a lot of attention that would make them more likely to buy Calvin Klein's products.
i believe the lack of color was used to add mystery. it helps the viewer to only focus on the object and less on the surroundings. also the model standing facing away was used to help the viewer focus only on the body language and not the facial expression. i believe female viewers of this ad will view this as empowering and that if they buy calvin klein they will feel empowered and risky. this would not have been as eye catching had it been in a female bathroom because it wouldn't have been so out of the ordinary
ReplyDeleteThere is no color in this ad because, as you said, it makes the product stand out. An all white underwear in a black and white ad. If she were turned around, that would be bordering on pornography/weirdness. I would also say she is turned around in order to keep her masculine masquerade going. By not seeing her face it contributes to the mysteriousness of the ad and the mood it gives off by being in black and white. This product is obviously geared towards a certain type of woman. That of a strong, and independent one. So by her being in the men's bathroom instead of the woman's it automatically grabs the attention of those more self-reliant type of women. But, the ad would not grab the attention of those women who are less independent or whatever. But this expands Calvin Klein's market who are known for making mostly men's products.
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