What a Lovely Big Shiny Purple One My Man Has!
( Source: Wednesday 25th February Korea Times, p. 20; see full advertisement here )
A classic case of sociologist Erving Goffman’s notion of “The Ritualization of Subordination” in depictions of the sexes together, although you don’t need to have heard of either to tell who’s the boss in this particular advertisement! One slightly less obvious point of interest though, is Han Ye-seul’s (한예슬) use of the “bashful knee bend,” a common motif for women in advertisements, and which according to Goffman:
…can be read as a foregoing of full effort to be prepared and on the ready in the current social situation, for the position adds a moment to any effort to fight or flee. Once again one finds a posture that seems to presuppose the goodwill of anyone in the surround who could offer harm. Observe…that a sex-typed subject is not so much involved as a format for constructing a picture (Gender Advertisements, 1976, p. 45).
Which I read as it being used in advertisements to show women feeling safe and secure in the presence of their male protectors, in this case Song Seung-heon (송승헌). And why not? To claim that the depiction of that natural feeling is sexist in itself is absurd, but Goffman’s point was simply that the knee bend, and a host of other means of active/passive dichotomies in depictions of the sexes like that - such as men almost always being portrayed as taller than women, far more than in real life – were still overdone in advertising, and not exactly compensated by images of women as assertive, aggressive and/or as instructors, superiors and leaders either.
Or at least in 1976; as that last link explains and the advertisement on the right (source) with Lee Min-ho (이민호) makes clear, things have certainly changed a great deal since, having one person on a bed and/or lower than the other also being a common way of showing ranking. Which is not to say that – now that you have it in mind – you won’t still find many many examples of women with the knee bend in advertisements (or, indeed, in a bed).
But even more interesting though, is the fact that it is Song Seung-heon at all that is advertising the Whisen (휘센) air-conditioner, for actually I only noticed the ad because is the first Korean one for an air-conditioner that I’ve seen in which a man is the center of attention. Sure, that they’re dominated by women is no surprise, as it’s also true of their Western counterparts, albeit to a much lesser extent (but a difference one would expect given Korea’s deeply patriarchal society). But then bear in mind that the process of modernization that electronics and electric appliances still epitomize – especially in a society as development-obsessed as Korea – has always involved “housewifization” and the nuclearization of the family, and so while it’s certainly true to say that owning one’s first washing machine in the 1960s in the UK, say, was also a definite signifier of status and upward mobility, Korean advertisements for the same should be placed in the context of a society where consumerism has been equated with national security, and in which the lowest numbers of women in the world work (for a developed society). Hence not only are Korean examples almost hyperreal advertisements for modernity itself, but so far they’ve overwhelmingly featured female-centered narratives, Korean housewives’ need for the self-fulfillment that Betty Friedan saw that their purchase provided being all that more the greater here, and other manifestations of which would be an obsessive focus on real-estate speculation and on children’s educational achievements.
Which might sound a little to take in all at once, but I assure you, once you’ve seen a few examples like the one below then you’ll get a sense of how surreal they consistently are, and why this deserves explanation (and have also reminded me personally of how advertisements really are a reflection of the zeitgeist of an era). So, why the change in that particular advertisement?
My first thought was because it was for the “Luxury” (럭셔리) model, as the instant I learned that in fact a scene from science-fiction novel I read as a teenager came to mind, which opened with a conversation between a couple in which the woman explained to her fiance that, while women did the bulk of shopping, men still bought the important expensive things like houses and cars. As it happens, the couple were in a decidely backward parallel universe where, among other things, American women had never gained the vote(!), but obviously it still has echoes in real life, and indeed this logic does especially apply to Korea: for instance, while I’m not sure to what extent this tradition is followed, I’ve repeatedly heard that it is expected that before a wedding a new wife’s family must provide for the furniture for their new apartment, whereas the husband’s family must provide the apartment itself. Does the expense of this model then, draw it from the female realm to the male, thereby appealing more to the latter? Or is the advertisement still primarily aimed at women, this supposedly luxurious model possessing a male and/or sophisticated aura that other, cheaper ones lack? Or is there still some other factor that I’m missing?
Unfortunately, the K-pop blogs (see here, here and here) do little more than provide more pictures and links to related commercials, so I’d be happy to hear your own thoughts. And I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for mention of it in next month’s Korean advertising magazines.
Expect More Nudity During This Recession
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one to notice Duoback’s advertisement for its new “Alpha” chair a few days ago. Yes, that one:
( For a larger version, see here )
It’s always nice to be proved right. Even if it is true that my earlier observations about the advertisement were common-sense really, and that it just so happens to be a tabloid-style article from Yahoo Korea that provides the first confirmation of them:
Recessions Lead to Nude Advertisements…and Flustered Commuters
인 박인숙 (35세, 가명)씨는 출근 후 회사에 비치된 신문들을 훑어보며 깜짝 놀랐다.
After arriving at work one day, a 35 year-old woman that we’ll call Park In-sook (not her real name) was surprised at what she saw while browsing a newspaper provided by her company.
맨살을 훤히 드러낸 한 여성의 뒷모습이 담긴 광고가 눈에 띄었기 때문. 녹색의 투명한 타올이 엉덩이에 살짝 걸쳐 있을 뿐 전라에 가깝다. 신문에 실린 이 광고의 품목은 여성전용 제품이 아니었다. 기능성 의자 광고였다.
Her eyes were drawn to an advertisement which featured the back side *cough* of a woman, completely naked but for a green transparent towel lightly covering her buttocks. The advertisement wasn’t actually for any product specifically for women, but was for an expensive ergonomic chair instead.
‘인간의 몸을 기억하다’는 메시지를 담고 있는 이 광고는 여성 누드 사진을 이용해 독자들의 눈길을 끌고 있다.
The accompanying message in the advertisement was that “This chair remembers the human form,” and the nude woman was clearly placed in it simply to draw the attention of readers.
또 다른 신문엔 여성의 상체 누드(뒷모습) 사진이 전면광고로 실렸다. 이 광고는 한 아울렛을 소개하는 것으로 역시 여성의 알몸이 등장할 만한 제품과 거리가 멀었다.
A different full-page advertisement for a outlet store featuring only a woman’s nude back has already been in another newspaper, and in that earlier advertisement too the product(s) advertised had little to do with nor required nude women (James: not the one on the right for another Duoback chair, although it seems a strange coincidence that it’s the only other Duoback chair featuring nudity, and that the “outlet store” is unnamed; I think the report made a mistake).
최근 이처럼 일간지에 여성의 누드 사진이 활용된 광고가 눈에 띄게 늘자 독자들은 낯 뜨겁다는 반응이다. 아침부터 신문에 누드 사진과 다름없는 광고를 보게 돼 불쾌하다는 설명이다.
Recently, there has been a spate of advertisements featuring nudity in daily newspapers, and these have been making many readers embarrassed and uncomfortable when they encounter them. But these days, it is almost impossible to escape them.
박인숙씨는 “신문광고에 누드사진이 실리면 시선을 집중시킬 순 있겠지만 너무 선정적인 광고로 인해 불쾌해지는 사람들도 많을 것”이라며 “상쾌한 기분으로 아침을 시작해야하는데 이런 광고는 달갑지 않다”고 토로했다.
According to Park In-sook, “Certainly advertisements featuring nudity will get many reader’s attentions, but sensational and shocking advertisements can also make many people uncomfortable. It is important to start every day with a fresh mind, and advertisements like these aren’t helping.”
한 편으론 독자의 시선을 한 번에 끌어당길 수 있다는 측면에서 광고효과가 극대화된다는 평가다. 특히 요즘같이 불황에는 사람들의 감각을 자극하는 광고기법이 먹힌다는 속설대로 제품을 하나라도 더 팔려고 하는 회사들이 이런 광고를 자주 하고 있다는 분석이 나온다.
On the other hand, advertisements like this are more effective because they attract consumers’ attentions with just one glance. And as both modern analysis and a traditional saying advise, during a recession companies should use dependable advertisement techniques which are well proven to do so.
한 광고회사 PD는 “통상적으로 경제가 어려울 땐 자신의 소득을 기준으로 이성적인 구매를 하기 마련인데 회사 입장에선 조금이라도 자극적인 광고를 통해 소비자를 유혹하려고 한다”며 “섹스어필처럼 감각에 호소하는 광고는 단기적으로 큰 효과가 있다”고 말했다.
According to a spokesperson for the advertisement company PD behind the Duoback advertisement, “People naturally spend rationally and frugally during a recession, so from a company’s perspective it is best to use stimulating and direct advertisements that appeal to basic human senses, and those with sex-appeal especially will certainly get a quick result.”
이어 “많은 돈을 들여 톱스타를 쓰지 못하는 중소기업에서 이런 광고를 선호한다”며 “경기 불황일수록 이런 광고를 더욱 많이 하게 될 것”이라고 덧붙였다.
Moreover, “Small and medium-sized that can’t afford top stars tend to prefer these kinds of advertisements, and as the economy gets worse we can expect to see more like these.”
Which is not to say that those companies able to afford stars haven’t also been making increasingly racier advertisements recently, nor that stars haven’t aggressively been using such in their own self-promotion either, as the last two images above attest to. And if those grabbed your attention-as well they might-then for more information and pictures from Kwon Sang-woo’s (권상우) Japanese and Yoon Eun-hye’s (윤은혜) modeling for lingerie company Vivien, see here (and especially here) and here respectively.
To end on a more serious note though, let me first reiterate the point I made in my last post, that it’ll be interesting to see to what extent this adds to pre-existing trends towards more revealing advertisements in the Korean alcohol industry especially, and which have had a demonstrable effect on how Korean women dress in recent years. But on the other hand, evidence for increased nudity in advertisements as a result of the recession will to a certain extent be self-fulfilling: after all, Korea is not exactly lacking for increasingly revealing advertisements at the moment, and so having drawn your attention to them in this post (and my own by writing it), then it’s not like we won’t all see scores of examples that we otherwise wouldn’t have on our daily commute tomorrow; nor, having done so, not discern a sudden increase in their numbers also! A point which, as I type this, also makes me wonder to what extent trends in advertising I’ve noticed previously were genuine or merely the result of my sudden interest in them?
Sigh. Until some empirical evidence becomes available then, which ultimately I may well be providing myself sometime over the next couple of years, I guess the jury is still out on whether recessions lead to more nudity in advertisements (let alone the other trends I’ve looked at). But in the meantime, for those of you that are further interested in studying advertisements properly, then you’ll probably like this post of mine, and now at least I do have a renewed interest in analyzing what data is available: in March, once I’ve belatedly finished *cough* four post series, my next plan will be to collate all the data on advertising that I’ve already looked at into one easy resource to be placed in my sidebar, which is in need of updating.
Because a woman’s legs can NEVER be too thin…
After all, why settle for mere sausage legs when you can have drumsticks instead?
Found in passing while flicking through a discarded copy of the Korean version of the Metro International, a free daily newspaper. While it’s obvious what it’s advertising, I was sufficiently curious to find out what it was saying exactly:
나는 원래 윤아보다 다리가 섹시했다
다만 쥬비스 관리를 몰랐을 뿐!
Originally my legs were sexier than Yoona’s, but the only problem was I didn’t know about the care that Juvis (the name of the diet clinic) could provide.
내 다리는 원레 백만불짜리 다리,
세월의 무게를 견디기위해
점점 두꺼워져 갔지
이제 쥬비스로 관리받아
예전의 각선미를 되찾을거야!
Originally my legs looked like a million dollars, but in order to get through life my legs got thicker and thicker. Now, through Juvis I am going to receive a service that will restore my legs to their former beauty!
더 즐거워진 쥬비스 체험 EVENT
A more enjoyable Juvis experience event
3월부터 쥬비스의 다양한, 관리시스템이 새롭게 시작됩니다! 이벤트 기간 동안 신규 패키지를 동록하시는 고객께 새로운 관리시스템 중 2개의 이벤트 프로그램을 무료로 체험할 수 있는 혜택을 드립니다.
From March, Juvis will introduce a more varied body care system. For those that register, you will receive the benefits of experiencing two event programs for no extra charge.
여자가 꿈꾸던 라인
쥬비스에서 관리하세요 몸이 즐겨운 다이어트
The line that women have dreamt about
Get the care and a diet enjoyable for your body at Juvis
쥬비스 다이어트가 즐거운 이유:
- 몸이 힘들지 않아서 즐겁다
- 요요를 완벽히 잡아서 즐겁다
- 부작용이 없어서 즐겁다
- 탄력까지 살려줘서 즐겁다
- 원하는 부위가 빠져서 즐겁다
- 추가 부담이 없어서 즐겁다
Reasons why a Juvis diet is enjoyable:
- It is not tiring for the body
- Your weight will not go up and down like a yoyo
- There are no side-effects
- You will revive your body’s elasticity and bounce
- You can lose weight from the body parts you want to
- There are no additional charges
Now, given the Korean media’s predilection for ascribing letters to every conceivable form of a woman’s body (see here and here), then probably I shouldn’t have been surprised that there’s an old Korean word (각선미) for ” the beauty of leg lines” too. I did expect to find something like the absurd claim that “you can lose weight from the body parts you want to” though, as the relative lack of legislation over false advertising in Korea means that there is little to stop advertisers claiming that losing weight is easy, simply and painless provided that consumers choose their company’s pills, crèmes and/or lotions and so on. For more on that, see my analysis of the journal article “Content Analysis of Diet Advertisements: A Cross-National Comparison of Korean and U.S. Women’s Magazines” (Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, October 2006) here, and bearing in mind the context of a culture that generally disdains critical thinking also, which in turn discourages Korean women from challenging advertisers’ claims with the appropriate skepticism, then the result is that Korean women overwhelmingly prefer passive methods of losing weight to exercising.
And by coincidence, the following advertisements in the same paper probably don’t help much in making women comfortable with one particular body part of theirs either:
Forgive me if I can’t summon any sense of feminist outrage on this particular occasion, but naturally I do concede that the use of women’s buttocks seem a bit gratuitous in both. Those in the latter advertisement by the way, belong to Odette Yustman, whom I was interested to read appeared in Kindergarten Cop back in 1990 (I wonder which kid she was?). Also, while the movie she’s appearing in is called “Undead” in Korean, it’s actually The Unborn in English.
At first I thought the Metro newspaper itself was to blame(?), which does always seem to err on the side of populism, but then it would just be using the advertisements supplied to it, and indeed local versions of that same movie poster can be seen worldwide at the moment. But although neither is particular new or notable in any sense, they did make me wonder whether if, in addition to reports on all the supposed quirky shifts in consumer behavior that are beginning to fill the lighter sections of newspapers worldwide (skirts will get longer, both sexes will use more cosmetics, and so on), lewd(er) advertisements will also be something to expect in the economic downturn (above and beyond preexisting trends towards such in Korea that is)? Certainly the advertising industry worldwide would be inclined towards using dependable generators of consumer interest at the moment!
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